


Tolerating Vermin Holidays

by Marley_Millions



Category: Trigun (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Canon - Anime, Character Development, Character Interpretation, Character Study, Childhood Trauma, Christmas, Easter, Easter Egg Hunt, F/M, Fanart, Gun Violence, Halloween, Holidays, Humor, Knives is still an asshole but he’s trying, Major Character Injury, Meryl and Milly are too good for Gunsmoke, New Year's Eve, Novel, Other, Plot Twists, Post-Canon, Romantic Fluff, Sibling Rivalry, Slice of Life, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, Vash needs to love himself more often, Vermin Shenanigans, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:34:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 66,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26792212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marley_Millions/pseuds/Marley_Millions
Summary: Years had passed since Vash defeated Knives and brought him to the insurance girls. Even though Vash had risked his opportunity for a prosperous future by sparing his brother, Knives had eventually proved himself capable of being tolerant of humans if it meant having Vash in his life again.Unfortunately for Knives, that meant moving to New Oregon and celebrating certain ancient holidays, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even Valetnine's day.But forgiving and trusting each other again proved to be more challenging than either of them expected. The complexities in life didn't simply disappear just because a holiday was being celebrated, especially when those complications were a result of Knives Millions’ devastating choices.
Relationships: Millions Knives & Meryl Stryfe, Millions Knives & Milly Thompson, Millions Knives & Vash the Stampede, Vash the Stampede/Meryl Stryfe
Comments: 23
Kudos: 33





	1. Grape Taffy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [keltatonic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keltatonic/gifts), [Obcerveris](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obcerveris/gifts), [wyluliwerewolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyluliwerewolf/gifts), [Neon_Lights_Vash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neon_Lights_Vash/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The End](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/697507) by iamfaraway. 
  * Inspired by [Found](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18181403) by [keltatonic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keltatonic/pseuds/keltatonic). 
  * Inspired by [When Dreams Change](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/766590) by cymberleah. 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is about the post-Trigun anime gang celebrating Halloween. What more is there to say? Well, a damn lot more happens too!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own Trigun... There's fanart of Milly's costume at the end, though.

Years had passed since the final confrontation with humanity’s most formidable opponent, and the one who prevailed, Vash the Stampede, began a new chapter in his life with a family he hadn’t even known he wanted. Sitting on the couch in the outlaw’s home was Meryl Stryfe, expertly repairing a set of Vash’s clothes. In the kitchen, Milly Thompson was washing the dishes from that day’s dinner, while humming a song about pudding. Once the two women began to converse about a vexatious topic, the brooding Plant had the urge to close his novel and beat the humans’ heads with it. Unfortunately for Millions Knives, his brother opposed his spontaneous acts of violence toward the insurance girls ever since he was brought to them with multiple bullet wounds.

A door slammed and the girls flinched, but Knives remained immersed in his book propped on his knees, absently twirling a fork in his spaghetti.

“This is a great day!” Vash flung the front door open, revealing his disheveled state. “How’s everyone today?! How was work?” He rushed to Meryl and scooped her in his arms, plucking her from the lumpy couch cushions.

“V-Vash!”

“Meryl and I had a good day, Mr. Vash!” Milly stepped from the kitchen while drying her hands with a cloth. “Mr. Knives too, with that book of his.”

“Vash put me down!” Meryl blushed, and the man released the petite woman. “You’re acting more like an idiot than usual!”

“Yep, I’ll tell ya why in a minute.” When he faced his brother again with open arms, Knives lowered his novel and glared, challenging Vash to try his patience. “I’ll tell ya, work can really wear me down,” Vash continued, stretching his arms above his head. He then took a seat beside his brother at the table, and his stomach growled at the sight of the warm spaghetti. “Even a _superior being_ like me gets tired out.”

Knives paused for a moment in turning a page. “Tonight’s meal was adequate for us, _dear_ brother.” With a shove, the he pushed the bowl of spaghetti toward Vash with the strands still entangled in the fork.

Meryl huffed, placing her hands on her hips. “Well your _majesty_ , we can’t afford the ingredients _you_ want because _someone_ sits and reads all day and doesn’t help pay the bills.”

Knives looked up from his book with an indifferent expression. “Working for the humans…” He grimaced. “Correct me if I’m mistaken, and I’m confident that I’m not, but haven’t I offered a place to live in one of my ships? It has everything I need.”

“Yes you did—you think we’d leave people just because the _majesty_ is afraid of them?” asked Meryl.

“Afraid of your insignificant kind?”

Vash stiffened in his seat while fishing for an envelope in one of his pockets. Milly shook her head before returning to the dishes.

“Referring to me as _majesty_ implies I wish to rule over vermin when I simply yearn to be their executioner.”

“Knives…” Vash warned. 

“Hmph, well, the vertically lacking woman should know her place. If I were allowed to, I would gladly—”

“Knives!” Vash snapped, even though he knew it was a bluff. The last thing the twins needed was another reason to fight. Knives lowered his glare for a moment in understanding before returning to his book.

“Now you two should really get along. It’s been a long time already,” Milly said, leaving the kitchen again to sit at the dining room table. “Mr. Knives is right, Meryl. He did offer to let us stay in his ship, but since we didn’t want to, we now just have to work a little harder for what we’d want. Besides, he does help by fixing our kitchen appliances and making things. He does it in his own way.”

Knives smirked at Meryl’s twitching brow.

“And Mr. Knives, you shouldn’t insult Meryl like that. People are different, but that doesn’t mean we’re worthless just because you say so.”

“Knives,” Vash added, “to be fair, people are afraid of insects. Have ya ever been bitten by one of those desert mosquitoes?!”

The Plant sighed before returning to his book, still perched on his crossed legs. He felt his brother’s eyes on him and knew Vash wouldn’t stop until he responded. “Yes, I remember, you moron. We traveled the desert for fifteen years a century ago.”  
  


”So you haven’t been bitten by one since?” Vash asked, surprised. “Guess your skin is too _superior._ _”_

Knives rolled his eyes and pretended to ignore his brother. 

Vash then gave a cheeky grin. To tease his sensitive twin, he lifted the fork to his mouth and slurped. The exasperated Plant rubbed his temple, then stood up with his book.

“Wait, wait, wait! Sorry, okay? I need to talk to all of you.”

Knives scowled at his seated brother before stepping into the short hallway to his room. He halted when Vash pulled his arm toward the table.

“This includes you!”

“If you’re about to ask me to accompany you to the local orphanage again, you’re—”

“No, this’ll actually interest you. I promise.” Vash pinched the sleeve of his brother’s tight jumpsuit before Knives yanked his arm away. “If you don’t, then I won’t let you sleep tonight. I’ll whine and whine...”

Knives whirled around, snarling at Vash’s smile. He knew his brother would stand by his threat. It wouldn’t have been the first time, it certainly wouldn’t be the last. “Fine. Be quick with this.”

“Okay,” Vash stuffed a fork of spaghetti into his mouth before gathering his thoughts. “So, uh, you know… I sent a letter to the Doc a bit a—”

“Doc? Oh right,” Meryl interrupted, attracting the attention of everyone besides Knives, with a chin in his hand over the table. “Wait a second… You never wrote to us when you disappeared! Do you write to everyone else?”

“N-No… not that often. I mean, for the two years I was gone, I didn’t really know what building you worked in. I didn’t want anyone to know who or where I was anyway. Also, I was hiding, too!”

“Not well,” Knives said with a sudden superior look on his face.

“It fooled you for two years!”

“Right—Eriks, was it? Why did you choose _that_ name?”

“Uhh, to be honest, Lina—”

“Mr. Vash, weren’t you going to tell us something?” Milly asked.

“Right, big girl. Uhh, so, I got a letter back from the Doc. He says hello and can’t wait to meet you two after reading so much about our, uh, adventures.” Vash then turned to Knives. “I told him about you and said you’d stay away from the ship for now. No one knows that you’re with me besides him and the girls. Safety reasons.”

Knives snorted. “For whose safety? Theirs or mine?”

Vash shrugged. “Both, I guess…”

“A wise choice, brother.”

Vash nodded. “Well, the Doc knows I’m working and everyone but Knives is, too. He offered me a place to stay on the ship and in exchange, I’d work for him, but since Knives should avoid the place, I was thinking we could visit first...”

Meryl sighed. “Vash, we can't. We have responsibilities here.”

“Now wait, hear me out, insurance girl! Okay?” The woman huffed, and then joined them at the table. “Well, I was informed that the whole place is packing now! Ever since the ship crashed, its caused such a buzz that sand steamers and caravans visit New Oregon more often just to trade and all that. Its made things easier for the people on the ship since they had to get accustomed to a new culture… But…” He paused.

Knives heaved a sigh. “Even as a child, you always paused for dramatic effect.”

Vash released his breath in an exaggerated sigh and pouted. “You’re no fun! ...The people from the ship shared their knowledge on Earth’s customs and history. Apparently, the people of New Oregon enjoyed the concept of some of the holidays, and since they can afford to have fun now, why not?” 

“Oh, I know a nice holiday!” Milly chirped. “Burgunham’s Day! My family used to celebrate that every year!”

Knives scowled while Vash cringed.

“What?” both women asked.

“Well, you see girls, wha—”

“Approximately seventy years ago,” Knives interrupted, “the Burgunham Family murdered one of our sisters in an effort to prevent another family from obtaining her. It was an instance of ‘If I can’t have it, no one will.’ I was near her when it happened, but I was too late.”

“I wasn’t too far away, since I tried to see what I could do about it,” Vash muttered. “That fight wasn’t pretty.”

“That Plant was spared from being consumed, at least,” Knives finished with gritted teeth.

“Oh…” Milly’s shoulders slumped. “But people said he—”

“The family didn’t save the people from an ‘exploding’ Plant. They murdered her. The dominant winners of history record their biased victories.” Knives lowered his gaze

Meryl broke the tense silence. “Other than a few holidays, people here don’t really celebrate much. I’ve heard a few stories of how our—my ancestors celebrated together. Christmas was one.”

Vash forced himself out of his melancholy mood. “Yep! Although, Christmas is in December and next month is October… The people are gonna celebrate my second favorite holiday!”

Knives tensed, lifting his head from his hand. “No.”

“Wha—Knives! I didn’t finish!”

“Vash, no! If you’re planning on celebrating _that_ …”

“Celebrating what?” Milly asked, still sitting stiffly.

Meryl raised a brow. “I’m not going to like this, am I?” she whispered to herself, but the men caught it.

Vash took a bite of his food before continuing. “You might… Milly would! Uh, so, at the end of October a few cultures on Earth celebrated a holiday called Halloween. I’d go into the history behind it, but someone else might want to explain. Whaddya say, _professor_?” Vash flashed a smirk toward his brother, who rolled his eyes and opened his book again.

“What did they do for that holiday, Mr. Vash?” Milly asked as if she hadn’t been affected by the truth of one of her family’s favorite holidays.

“I’m glad you asked! Well… the short version of it is that people, usually kids, dressed up as different people or creatures or whatever and went up to houses shouting ‘trick or treat,’ and were given candy!”

“Oh, that sounds fun, Mr. Vash! Too bad I’m not young enough anymore…”

“Vash, that’s a terrible idea!” Meryl yelled, standing for emphasis. Knives snorted at her attempt to appear superior. “Children could get hurt wandering near strange houses and people—especially here! Do you know how many children go missing on this planet?”

‘ _Fewer parasites to leech off our brethren,’_ Knives sent so only Vash heard. _‘Perhaps I judged the idea too abruptly.’_

A light crease formed between Vash’s brows. “You’re right, Meryl. It isn’t safe for just children to do that, so people have to also apparently dress up with their kids and celebrate it! They also hired a lot more security, which means trouble for me but I’d be in a disguise! Everyone’s gonna trick or treat! We can do it too!”

Milly’s eyes sparkled, as costume possibilities swirled in her head.

“No!” Meryl and Knives shouted, resolving the decision for themselves.

“C’mon guys! Hear me out, okay?”

The girls were willing, but a certain Plant wasn’t backing down.

 _‘I’ve ceased my endeavors in striving for an Eden for the time being; I haven’t thought of murdering a single soul in a matter of da—hours; I haven’t touched a single human; I haven’t interacted with many, not since that one time before we moved here because someone had to play the hero. If you’re expecting me to dress as anything for such a ridiculous occasion, you, my dearest brother, are even more of a fool than I ever imagined.’_ Knives turned a page. He had been staring at the same one for the past few minutes.

“Don’t be such a stick in the sand! We celebrated Halloween with the crew, remember? C’mon, I know you do! We knocked on their doors and they gave us a lot of goodies. Even Rem offered cookies in little bags! If I remember right, a certain _someone_ dressed as a cowboy!”

Knives scowled before raising his book ever so slightly. He shook his head, and then slammed the novel on the table. “Shut up, Vash!”

Meryl snorted, and when Knives sneered at her, she couldn’t help but muffle her laughter with a hand cupping her mouth.

“Dressing as a cowgirl sounds like a fun idea! I even have a few other ideas for a costume too!” Milly said, her eyes twinkling.

Vash crossed his arms and pouted as Knives continued to glare at Meryl. “I’m not done! Now, we have at least a bit to decide and plan… I don’t just wanna visit… I wanna move to New Oregon.” He raised a swift hand that only Knives managed to follow it when Meryl began to protest. “Uh, I think it’ll be better for us if we move. Doc even mentioned a little house he’ll rent out for us until we get situated and it’s away from most people. Whatever business we have here, we can deal with it and move there. Milly can share a drink with her coworkers, Meryl can return that revealing waitress outfit,” he winked her way, and the insurance girl looked away with a faint blush, “and Knives can say his goodbyes to the wall he broods next to every night.”

_‘One more snide comment and I swear, Vash…’_

The gunman chuckled. When Knives’ threatened to leave, Vash raised both hands in mock surrender. “There might be other insurance offices there, I can work with the Doc on some of his new projects, and Knives can work at home in some way. Working for humans, yeah yeah, I know, but think about it. We could use all the income we can get. You did say sometimes people work from home where you’d work, right, insurance girl?”

Meryl widened her eyes and glanced at the platinum-headed twin, who looked one second away from ripping his brother to shreds. Just the thought of Knives working anywhere near her sent a chill throughout her body that rivaled Earth’s South Pole.

“We don’t have to decide now. If we do move, I promise we’ll visit the Pequod to check on it, okay?” Vash told his brother.

Knives sighed. “We shall see.”

“What about you girls?”

“At least you’re letting us come this time...” Meryl mumbled.

“Yay!” Milly cheered. “Maybe we can visit my family too!”

“I haven’t seen mine in forever…” Meryl looked down at her hands.

“If dwarfism is a common trait among them, I’d rather not.”

Meryl jerked her head to snarl at the Plant. “Only one member of your family has any redeeming qualities, to begin with,” she retorted.

He smirked. “Care to repeat that, you—”

“Okay, can I eat my spaghetti in peace now, please?!”

It took less than a week for everyone to weigh the pros and cons of moving to New Oregon, and after endless debates with the stubborn ex-genocidal twin, they prepared their departure.

Before they traveled to New Oregon, they visited one of Knives’ ships. Once, Knives would have outright refused to allow humans in his home. But after years of living with the girls, he instead showed off the ship’s features and bragged that he alone had kept it maintained for decades. They remained for a few days until Knives was satisfied with his inspection and the condition of his sisters within.

A week after they left the ship, their sandsteamer arrived in New Oregon. It was perfect timing too since people began decorating their houses for Halloween alongside the populace of Gunsmoke.

Not too long after moving, Meryl and Milly managed to convince their chief to transfer them to the new Bernardelli office in New Oregon. Vash began working alongside Doc in the ship to help with the Plants, which was largely empty since most people left to start new lives among Gunsmoke’s inhabitants. Knives remained indoors, occasionally strolling through the empty desert on the outskirts of town to absorb the suns’ rays. Vash somewhat trusted his brother and didn’t feel the need to babysit his twin to keep people safe. Knives had promised long ago that he wouldn’t kill anyone unless it was absolutely necessary.

It was a start.

Despite Knives’ boasts of being a superior being who should never have to fret about trivial matters, Meryl wasn’t having any of his refusal to work. To cease her nagging—and because Vash whined for him to—Knives eventually agreed to earn a wage, on the condition that he should remain indoors at a distance from humans. So, although it distressed Meryl, the insurance woman managed to find and offer a position to the closeted anthropophobic Plant. The hardest part was getting him to participate in an interview after Meryl recommended him for the position. Knives immediately got the job, and Meryl was suspicious about that. The Plant often completed a week’s worth of work in a matter of hours, and the length of time shortened when Vash brought home a monitor for him to type and print with.

Life was stable, pleasant even. There was the occasional trivial argument or bickering contest between the twins, but their copious quarrels were often sparked because they wanted to. Even after all of these years, the twins often avoided discussing their issues while mending their relationship. Vash knew he wasn’t confident enough to deal with their past yet, so they didn’t confront each other for now about their problems.

The day before Halloween, instead of brooding, Knives continued his project of engineering a radio since New Oregon’s radio stations were varied compared to their previous residence. He sat in the living room, leaning forward with tools in hand and shifted wires and other components. He could’ve isolated himself in his room once the women of the house returned from work, but the Plant was so immersed in the task that he stayed to remain focused. Eventually, after a mutual greeting with Knives, the women began their late afternoon duties, with Meryl cooking dinner and Milly folding their laundry in her bedroom.

Without him asking, Milly brewed tea for the concentrating Plant, who finally acknowledged the woman’s generous offer with a slight nod before sipping from the warm cup. He then firmly held one of the wires and began connecting it to another section of the radio.

He was careful… He tried to be.

Knives winced, spilling the hot tea and burning his hand when he reached for it. He whirled his head toward his moronic brother that barged into their home, chirping and humming in delight over a box of donuts in hand and a huge bag in the other.

“Vash!” Knives shouted before the insurance girls could welcome the disruptive twin. “Care to enter without announcing your presence?!”

“Huh?” Vash set his donuts on the counter and the bag beside Knives on the couch. “You usually sense me before I even step foot in here!”

“Perhaps if you’d take the time to comprehend the diligent processes of repairing and engineering instead of drooling over women and stuffing yourself, you’d understand how immersed one could be in science.”

“Give me a break, Knives. I help Doc with things like that all the time now.”

The Plant crossed his arms. “Could’ve fooled me. As I recall, you often break what I create or repair.”

“Oh yeah? What?” Vash asked, crossing his arms as well.

“The microwave…”

Vash’s arms dangled at his sides. “... I thought you wouldn’t notice…”

“I did. Imbecile.”

“Hey! Who are you calling an imbecile? I’m not the only one who causes trouble! Who got you out of that mess when that guy in the restaurant started a fight after a certain _someone_ insulted his existence?”

Knives glared. “I stated a fact. His brain hadn’t evolved past the primate stage since he was captivated by that vixen of a woman.” His eyes gestured toward Meryl.

“Excuse me? I didn’t need your help with that!” She twisted the knobs on the stove and rushed to the living room. “I’m surprised you even went out with us anyway with all that pent up anxiety from over a hundred years of fearing people.”

“Have you ever stumbled on a pesky rodent? An invasive parasite in your meat? Humans are simply that: a grotesque invasion. Avoidance is a natural response… There is eradication...”

“Then why did you go to that restaurant?” Meryl smirked, mocking him with her body language alone.

“Hmph, it wasn’t for your company.”

“Okay, okay, I just got home! I don’t wanna deal with this… Geesh, why does it always happen when I come back?!” Vash whined as he jumped on the couch beside his brother, who instinctively held down his project as the floor shook.

“You are a magnet for trouble, dear brother. It must contaminate the very air around us.”

“How was work, Mr. Vash?!” Milly asked as she left her room for a moment.

“Good! It was good...”

When silence lingered for longer than necessary, Knives analyzed his brother’s suspicious glances toward Milly, who returned the expressions. Vash nodded before turning to fish for something in his bag, and Milly retreated into her room with a certain mischievous glint in her eyes.

Knives opened his mouth, but the shortest resident of their household beat him to it.

“What are you two planning?” Meryl asked, approaching the couch with a raised brow.

Vash lifted his head and gave the insurance girl one of the fakest smiles she had ever seen. “ _I'm_ not doing anything. Not for you, that is.”

“You mean you’re not spending our emergency funds on donuts for yourself again?”

“H-Hey! It was an emergency!”

Meryl shook her head. “I bet.”

Before Knives could gather further information, a flash of something jet black blocked his view. Once the object settled on Vash’s lap, the golden blond pinched onto something else, and Knives remained stationary when a pair of teeth snapped together in front of him. Upon further inspection, the fake dentures had sharp canines. Before Knives could demand an explanation for Vash’s failed attempt at frightening him, his brother propelled the black apparel in the air and wrapped it around Knives’ shoulders.

“Tada! Tomorrow’s Halloween!”

Knives blinked in stunned silence before he clenched onto the cloak and flung it at Vash, smacking his face with it. “You honestly thought I’d agree to this? Being among vermin in such close proximity for hours on end?”

Vash lowered his eyes. “Maybe.”

“Meryl!”

Everyone but Knives turned to witness Milly present herself in her costume with arms raised over her head. Vash blushed at the sight. Meryl widened her eyes in horror. When Knives tore his gaze from Vash’s turned head, he grimaced at Milly.

Milly’s outfit seemed to parody the wardrobe of the classic western movies Knives and Vash had watched as children. It was revealing, and Vash and Meryl knew their expressive friend wasn’t shy when it came to nudity—at least when drunk. Her blond hair curled in arcs underneath the brim of a sharp, white cowboy hat. A red bandana wrapped around her neck and fell over her exposed chest. Her shorts displayed her muscular physique she often hid under layers of her uniform.

Vash managed to free himself from Milly’s unintentional trance to see Knives staring as well. His brother—being the _pure being_ that Vash knew he was—was too _innocent_ for this, and he promptly raised a hand over Knives’ eyes, protecting him from the effect of Milly’s costume.

Knives slapped his hand away and turned his body from the huge woman, avoiding awkward glances toward his direction.

“Mr. Vash, I tried to make mine, but Meryl was near me too often for me to try in secret. I had to buy this costume.”

“W-What?” Meryl managed to question. “Milly, why are—”

“Meryl! It’s Halloween tomorrow!” she cheered. “Mr. Vash and I had planned for it when you and Mr. Knives went to turn in his paperwork to the chief for the first time.”

“Consider your plan foiled.” Knives continued his work despite his brother’s distracting, pleading look.

“But Knives! See? A vampire Plant would be cool! I even designed the cloak with a hood to hide most of your face!” Vash slipped and tucked the fabric over his own shoulders and inserted the teeth. In one graceless motion, he stood and brought the cloak up to his face to mimic a stereotypical interpretation of Dracula. “You can wear it over your jumpsuit!”

“Meryl, look!”

Everyone turned to Milly again, and this time Knives remained uninterested, but Vash noticed his dull flushed face. Embarrassment did suit his brother.

“Mi—” Meryl jolted at the flash of white before it rested over her petite form. She felt Milly's hands adjust whatever she had thrown on her and before Meryl knew it, she could see again, only with white fabric blocking her peripheral vision.

“I’ll offer credit where it’s due—that’s a preferable sight,” Knives mocked.

“Ma’am,” Milly began, “this costume will shield you from the prying eyes of men without manners.” She glanced at the Plants.

“M-Milly! What’s the point of this if you’re dressing like that?!” Meryl clawed at the sheet and freed herself, disheveling her hair in the process.

“Well, that’s why! I knew people would stare, so I made this for you!”

“Yeah, you too, Knives! I know how much people scare you,” Vash stated matter-of-factly.

Before Vash could lean away, Knives grasped the hood that couldn’t quite contain Vash’s golden spikes and Knives pulled it down over his brother’s face. “Unlike you, brother, I have responsibilities now.” He shoved Vash, shooting a leer before returning to his work.

“What? You mean the reports and things.”

“Perhaps extermination.”

“That’s not funny.”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t you usually take a few hours to finish the week’s work?”

“Yes.”

“Then what responsibilities?” Vash began shedding the cloak.

Knives didn’t answer as he continued to adjust wires and other pieces of their future radio.

Vash flashed the girls a smile. “I get it. Crowds do scare you. Wouldn’t want you to faint or something.”

“I know what you’re attempting, brother,” Knives said bluntly.

“You’ll probably be uncomfortable with my costume.”

When Knives lifted his head, Vash disappeared into his room. He glanced at the women watching him, unfazed by Milly’s costume at this point, and returned to his task.

“For once, I agree with the majesty,” Meryl said while folding the sheet. “We have responsibilities, Milly. We can’t drop them at the last minute.”

“But ma’am, remember what the chief said? People get a day off after Halloween to rest after a long night. It’s the first Halloween ever!”

“It’s in _our_ best interest to avoid venturing outside tomorrow,” Knives spoke, not surprising the others. “We might lose track of Stryfe among the toddlers.”

Meryl prepared to retort, but a certain gunman stole the spotlight. Knives almost couldn’t recognize his brother under the woolly beard that shed its cotton fibers onto his new red costume.

“Ho ho ho! Merry Halloween!” Vash raised his arms triumphantly as everyone gawked at him, Knives included.

“You’re donning Chris Kringle’s uniform. Dare I ask why?”

“Mr. Vash is going as Santa!” Milly shouted.

“How observant of you,” Knives murmured.

“Well, Christmas is my favorite holiday, so I just couldn’t wait.”

Vash strolled to his brother, and Knives braced for whatever was to come. The outlaw pulled his hat off and waved his hand over its opening, like some inexperienced magician. He tapped the brim of it and reached inside, pinching a donut-hole that Knives was surprised to see hadn’t been impaled on one of Vash’s spiked locks.

“It has a fruit filling, your favorite.”

Knives groaned before massaging his temple. Without a word, he reached for the donut and set it beside the radio.

“That’s very nice of you, Mr. Vash,” Milly commented as she sat in the rocking chair across from the couches.

“I even bought some candy we can leave outside in a bowl or something.” Vash reached in his bag for bags of candy that crinkled in his grasp and tossed them beside the radio. Knives paused to protect the technology from the candy carelessly thrown around. Out of irritation, he shoved the bags off the table, sending them flopping onto the floor.

“He—”

“I’ve been attending to my own affairs. Do you _want_ to have a radio to overcome the short woman’s degrading comments or not?” Knives glared. 

Vash sighed. “Knives, be nice. Please?”

“I am and have been. They’re alive, are they not?”

“Yes—thank you. But…”

“What, Vash?” Knives crossed his arms, leaning back into the couch.

“Come with us tomorrow. You’d probably like it! You’ll scare people and it’ll be appropriate!”

Knives groaned at the thought before rubbing his eyes. “Enlighten me, what are the pros and cons besides the one you just stated?”

Vash raised an eager hand to his fake beard, stroking it as if it were his own. Meryl rolled her eyes before returning to the kitchen.

“Well, we can celebrate our first Halloween together in over a hundred years!”

“Hmm.”

“We caaaan… Huh. We can get free candy!”

“You bought bags already.” Feeling like Vash would remain unconvincing, Knives began packing the tools to continue his project elsewhere.

“Those are for our neighbors... Oh, we can pretend to be different things!”

“I’m not inclined to _pretend_ as if I’m something that I’m not; I hadn’t for my entire life while you have.” Knives didn’t attempt to mask his ancient bitterness as he gathered his things. He stood with the radio carefully wedged into his arms.

Vash couldn't help but clench his fists on his lap. He had been living in Knives’ shadow for so long, and ever since their confrontation, he had found his resolve to follow his own words for guidance.

“Knives, you need to stop doing that. Please.” He stood to block his brother from avoiding him. “It’s not about being one, it’s about living with them. We’re still people—a family—like a lot of others here.”

Knives jeered. “Our current relationship is a temporary truce...”

In truth, Knives was stumped on what he truly desired in life after years of living with humans. He could fight for the freedom of his brethren, but he learned long ago that they depended on their bulbs to survive. No amount of rigorous sessions of genetic manipulation had changed that, and he had ceased those experiments since he had to recover after July. However, hadn’t planned to admit defeat. He still clung firmly to his morals, and in an endeavor to seek comfort in familiarity, he latched onto them once again. “These humans are a necessary evil to return you to my side,” he stepped around the table, “but once I have of another solution for Eden, you’ll no longer have to compare yourself to them.”

The sound of stirring in the kitchen ceased while Milly gave Knives a disappointed frown, which, to his amazement, made his heart lurch. He began retreating to his room.

“No!” Vash shouted, standing beside the couch. “Knives!”

Vash didn’t mean to… He simply wanted to talk about their situation. Maybe it was time to deal with their issues so they could reach a prosperous future. No running away. No hiding. 

“Knives, you can’t possibly still believe in that sti—” Overwhelmed by emotions, Vash yanked his brother’s arm. There was a sudden crash as metallic and plastic pieces scattered on the floor.

“Mr. Vash!” Milly yelled as she watched square parts of the radio slide across the floor.

Vash looked down at the shattered radio beside his brother’s feet. Vash knew his brother. It was one thing to break the microwave, it was another to destroy a passion project Knives had begun from scratch.

“What was that?” Meryl demanded as she stepped from the kitchen. “Oh…”

“Mr. Knives,” Milly spoke, almost in a whisper to the Plant facing away from them, “I can help fix it. I’m just not that good with this kind of thing.”

Knives clenched his fists at his sides. “Even a human is more considerate than my own brother.” He shook his head, releasing a scoffing laugh before telepathically saying to Vash, _‘Not only do you enforce your beliefs like a tyrant, but you’re also inconsiderate... I suppose I have been as well…’_ His arms were trembling.

Vash reached for his brother’s shoulder. Knives stiffened at the touch, as if he were disgusted with his own sibling. “Knives, I didn’t mean to. I’ll help. I’m sor—”

Vash gasped in the middle of his apology. The world spun and blurred around him. His head slammed into the wall, denting the surface. The girls yelled at Knives. An incredible force lifted Vash off his feet to pin him to the wall. When his vision focused, a pair of chilling blue eyes met with his. He opened his mouth, stunned that this was happening again. Knives had a firm grip on his neck, and whenever Vash attempted to do anything, his brother squeezed as a warning.

Knives leaned closer to Vash, nearly nose to nose. Soon, Vash could breathe again. He raised a hand to his neck, and before he could speak, Knives slammed the door to his room, disregarding the radio entirely.

“Mr. Vash, are you alright?” Milly asked as she placed a tender hand on his shoulder.

“I’m about to give that man a piece of my mind!” Meryl yelled, knowing Knives could hurt her for simply being born differently than him.

Before Meryl could barge into Knives’ room, Vash pulled her back with a firm grip on her forearm.

“You can’t just let him hurt you like that!”

 _‘Meryl…’_ Vash spoke softly through telepathy. _‘Can I speak to you like this for a second?’_

‘Y-Yeah. At least you ask, unlike a certain _someone_!’

 _‘Please don’t. He just needs a while to calm down. I know him, and this is just how he’s used to dealing with things. He hasn’t done anything like this for a while. He’s going to mess up.'_ He dropped his hand from her shoulder. “I’ll be okay.” He beamed a smile. Then his grin turned mischievous as an idea struck him. “I’d be even better if I had some good food!”

Meryl, wide-eyed, panicked that her stew and other foods were left unguarded.

They ate together with the exception of Knives, who remained in his room for the hour spent preparing the meal. Vash wanted to bring a bowl and plate to his brother but knew better. After cleaning the radio and gathering the pieces, Vash set everything on the coffee table. Eventually, the trio comfortably began discussing the events of their day. When Vash prepared to describe the new technology the Doc developed to potentially assist Plants, there was a sudden slam of a door. They jolted. Tension filled the air.

Knives revealed himself, his back faced them as he rushed to the living room. When his face was visible, his eyes were fixed on the floor. Then he turned a corner into the short hallway and slammed his door. They didn’t understand what happened until Vash entered the living room and couldn’t find the vampire costume.

Vash smiled at his brother’s unspoken apology.

The others managed to convince Meryl to go with them by whining and begging. Once she accepted the sheet, they called it a night—except for Vash. For hours, he examined which pieces for the radio needed replacing and recorded them. When he returned to the room he shared with his snoring brother, he smirked. Vash found the cloak and dentures on the desk where Knives wrote his reports.

The next day was uneventful since Knives maintained his aloofness. After a quick breakfast, Knives carried the radio to his room and remained inside. Vash knew Knives wouldn’t give up on the radio, but he managed to convince Knives to wait until he retrieved new parts for it. When Vash returned that day, he brought the components for Knives while describing the interesting decorations and costumes people wore.

“Mr. Vash, are you ready?” Milly asked while lightly knocking on the twins’ door.

“Yep! Just give me a second. This beard is itchy!”

The whining vexed the other twin. “You could’ve simply grown one,” Knives commented.

“Well, I don’t like beards.”

“You’ve been preparing this whole scheme for a month, and you hadn’t considered growing one and, perhaps, bleaching it?”

“What, and have the same color hair like you? We’re twins, but I don’t wanna be you!”

“Touché, dear br—”

Meryl slammed her fist on the door. “Let’s get a move on, gentlemen.”

“We’ll be right there, insurance girls. Could you fill the bowl with candy and set the stand I bought for it?”

Milly was preparing the bowl when the brothers stepped out. One was stomping while the other’s costume swayed gracefully with his movements. When they stood in front of the hallway, Vash raised his hands to his hips while Knives crossed his arms over his chest. Knives seemed tenser than usual, but his face gave nothing away. His SEEDS suit was hidden underneath the black cloak, but whenever he noticed it peeking out, he pulled up the edges of the cloak to reveal his uniform. Knives had mentioned he had assembled it himself, so it was no surprise that he subtly displayed the craftsmanship.

“Meryyyyyyl, you don’t even have yours on!” Vash whined, and Knives winced, instinctively raising a hand to cup his ear.

Meryl rolled her eyes before blanketing herself with the sheet.

“It’s about that time of day. You girls ready?” Vash asked as he adjusted his large Santa bag. He reached into it and grabbed other sacks for them to hold their candy in. The girls took theirs, thanking the outlaw. When Knives grabbed his own, he crossed his arms with it tucked between them. Vash was delighted that Knives was accompanying them, and wondered if he could convince his brother to approach any houses.

Vash was just as persistent as Knives was.

“They only have six varieties of sweets,” Knives said, peering into the bowl Milly was carrying outside.

“Yep, they didn’t make too many of them. Maybe next year?” She reached into the bowl and offered Knives a purple piece of taffy. “Mr. Vash said your favorite flavor is grape, so I asked him to buy more of those bags than the others in case there’s extra left when we get back. Try it, you might like it.”

She pinched the wrapped piece and raised it to his face. Knives disregarded it at first, then dubiously accepted it and walked toward the sidewalk. Unwrapping the treat, he examined it while waiting for everyone to follow him. Milly was the first to approach as he chewed on the candy, brows arched. When she neared, he promptly altered his expression into a reserved one.

“It’s… acceptable.” He crumpled the wrapper and tucked it into his bag.

“You like it! I don’t really like them, but I like bubblegum. Maybe we can trade pieces.”

“I’m not participating in this.”

She giggled. “We’ll see.”

Knives noticed other humans staring at Milly, obviously attracted to her costume. Instinctively, he encircled the cloak around his form and lowered the hoodie over his eyes.

“Okie dokie, we’re ready,” Vash said as he looked over his shoulder at Meryl. “The ghost of Christmas future is haunting me already.”

“What?” Meryl asked. “What does that mean, Vash?”

“It means you’re just the cutest thing, Meryl.”

The insurance girl paused and regained control when the initial shock of Vash calling her cute wore off.

Vash arched a brow at his jaded brother, but he also noticed that Milly appeared even more energetic than when she first left the house. He sniffed the air. “Is that grape?”

Knives grimaced, turning away to stuff the vampire teeth in his mouth. He began walking in long strides with Milly not far behind.

“Guys, this way people have more decorations! I checked the whole neighborhood and know where the best spots are!”

“No wonder he was late again,” Knives mumbled as he turned toward his brother. “He doesn’t use the watch I made for him. What’s the point of creating anything if he’ll destroy or ignore it?” The rhetorical question was supposed to be for himself, but someone listened.

“Well, Mr. Vash usually brings nothing but trouble. He does try his hardest to fix things. Look at your radio!”

Knives scoffed.

“He’s your brother. You know him more than anyone does, even me and Meryl. Do you think he really meant to destroy the things you’ve put your heart into?”

“With the exception of my plans for Eden, no.”

“Well, I’m sure Mr. Vash appreciates the work you do now. My big, big brother always said that brothers sometimes have a hard time showing how much they love each other.”

Knives raised a skeptical brow. “Yours probably harm each other. Humans.”

“Oh yeah. They do what you two do sometimes, but you’re just strong enough to lift Mr. Vash. I don’t agree with it, but brothers are sometimes different from sisters like that. What matters is if they learn from it.”

“I see…”

“You already said sorry after grabbing the costume. I’m sure he understands. Mistakes happen… Wolfwood made them often.”

The priest.

“If you’re expecting another apology…” If he were the same Plant that first arrived on their doorstep, slung over his brother’s shoulder, he wouldn’t have offered his condolences—especially to a human. That was who he had been. Perhaps who he was supposed to be.

“... I know. I… you’ve been getting better, well, changing ever since. You and Mr. Vash… I just hope you don’t hurt anyone else I care about, Mr. Knives.”

“You and my brother have too much faith. Who’s to say I won’t exterminate the vermin from this area once I decide to act?”

Milly stopped and watched her friends talk with each other in the distance. “Wolfwood did a lot of terrible things… I’m sure he’d want others to be given a chance to repent too… Mr. Vash and Meryl have faith in you.” Milly turned with glistening eyes. “I do too.” She continued on, leaving Knives behind to ponder on her reasoning.

The group didn’t stick out like a sore thumb among the adults, but when the adolescents ran across the streets and cheered, Vash lowered his hat over his forehead. The others spotted what bothered the outlaw. It was no surprise that people would dress as Vash the Stampede—Knives had even commented on the possibility ages ago. Most of the costumes were inaccurate since children relied on rumors describing the outlaw. Others were scary. Some even drew the beauty mark on the proper place. Out of everyone in the group, it was Knives who placed a firm hand on his brother’s tense shoulder.

 _‘You abandoned the red coat, remember?’_ Knives sent to him.

_‘I know… It’s just… I tried so hard to be a good example for kids, and they see me as something scary...’_

_‘Hmm, humans dress as people or characters they admired.’_

_‘Admiration for character or reputation?’_ Vash’s voice was bitter, and he immediately regretted it when Knives’ arm dropped from his shoulder. _‘I’m sorry. I—I am grateful that you’re giving all of this a chance… It’s hard to forget, but I said I forgave you a long time ago.’_ It was Vash’s turn to offer comfort, but Knives roughly pulled away and walked ahead of them.

For a while, the twins forgot about candy, and even though the girls tried to pry, Vash reassured them that nothing happened. While the girls went to one of the houses, the twins stood on the sidewalk, still sulking after their conversation.

“Well, I won’t let that ruin my night.” Vash gave a sharp nod before storming to the front door, leaving Knives alone until the girls returned.

“Wow, Meryl,” Milly exclaimed while looking into her bag, “that nice man gave me a handful.”

The shorter of the two huffed. “I got a jawbreaker. Vash likes those, doesn’t he?”

“Yep. Mr. Knives, I think I got the taffy you like.” She fished for it in her bag and felt the familiar wrapper and presented it to him. “You gotta say trick or treat and open your bag.”

Knives closed his eyes and remained silent. After a moment, he freed one hand from his crossed arms for Milly to toss it in his bag.

“Hey!” Vash shouted. “How come you get a handf—” The outlaw spotted Milly’s exposed cleavage and shut his mouth. “He only gave me chocolate.”

“The man gave me a jawbreaker. You want to trade, right?” Meryl asked while presenting the candy.

“Yes, ma’am.”

They continued for a few more houses with Vash accompanying the girls while Knives watched from a distance. The Plant was sure that none would have watched or cared for his presence among the crowds that wandered the area. He uncrossed his arms to retrieve the piece of taffy Milly had given him. In haste, he unwrapped the sweet, feeling anxious once again. At first, he was unsure of what happened. Screams erupted from behind, then a pair of hands shoved him forward while he was distracted. He wasn’t frightened by the human’s attempt to intimidate him, but he was enraged. The candy fell to the floor, sand coating its side.

It was meaningless, it was. There ought to have been plenty more to come from the others, but that one was given to him through the kindness of another—a kindness he had assumed all of humanity lacked or only his brother would demonstrate.

Vash had mentioned that Halloween was an appropriate occasion to terrorize humans. This _child_ had no idea who he shoved.

The teenager panicked at the ominous glare directed toward him. He raised his hands, dropping his bag, and before he could apologize, he trembled at the sight of Knives’ glowing eyes. The Plant knew Vash would’ve disapproved, but it was a perfect time for this. Taking it a step further, Knives influenced the teenager’s psyche, ensuring that he would experience dreadful nightmares beyond anything he had or ever would experience. The teenager screamed bloody murder, abandoning his dropped bag full of treats before running into the neighborhood.

“This guy gave me a few more pieces,” Vash commented as they neared Knives.

Milly felt through her bag. “They gave me two handfuls this time!”

“Geez, I wonder why,” Meryl fumed bitterly. Milly’s brows furrowed as she pulled a slip of paper with an address on it. Meryl snatched it. “That creep gave you his address,” she said disdainfully. She ripped it to pieces and stuffed them in her pocket.

Vash was occupied with searching for Meryl’s eyes through the torn slots of the sheets. “Well, I thought he was kind of cut—” He paused to watch his brother pick up a stranded bag. “Knives, where did you get that?”

“I grabbed it from the floor… A human child dropped it.” He peered into it and found his favorite candy among the other sweets.

“Grabbed it? Knives…”

“The child pushed me and I frightened him in return.” He shrugged.

“Knives, is that all?”

 _‘... I may have acted on an… excessive method,’_ he reluctantly admitted.

Vash narrowed his eyes. “You used telepathy, didn’t you?”

Knives grumbled. “Perhaps.”

“Knives! You can’t ju—”

“Vash, I didn’t harm them. That’s what humans do, correct? They _scare_ each other. So what if I utilize my abilities to have an advantage?”

“It doesn’t matter! You’re invading people’s privacy!” Vash marched in front of his brother, snatching the smaller candy bag. “You’re not getting anything from me or the girls. No candy for you.”

Knives scowled. “I am not some pet, Vash!”

“Well then, stop attacking people like some ravenous dog!”

“Mr. Vash,” Milly spoke, “Mr. Knives is scaring people and a lot of other children do it to each other around here.”

“Yeah, but when are they forced to experience nightmares?”

‘Well, who’s to say that people don’t scare others enough for them to have nightmares later?”

Vash stammered before closing his mouth altogether. Before he knew it, Knives grabbed the bag from Vash. “You can’t scare children, though. You can only use it to scare adults!”

Knives rolled his eyes. “I plan to simply purchase what I crave the following day, so exhausting energy on these trivial games is a waste.”

Vash prepared to retort, but he, once again, paused to reconsider his choice of words. Suddenly, his eyes widened and a mischievous grin spread across his face underneath the beard. “When I bought the candy, they sold out, and apparently they won’t make more until waaaay later on. Also, the candy we have and whatever’s left at home isn’t for you. You have to earn it.”

Knives rubbed his eyes as a headache began to sting him. He was used to the sensation since he had stared at monitors for the majority of his life. “I’ll live without it.”

“What? B-But I’ll give you all of my grape taffy pieces! I’ll even go with you to the door.”

The Plant slowly blinked at him.

“I guess I can’t force you if you don’t wanna. C’mon girls, let’s keep going. He’s too _scared_ to interact with people anyway.”

Milly shook her head. “You shouldn’t hurt his feelings for being scared. Everyone has something they’re afraid of.”

“Yeah,” Meryl chipped in, “especially a certain outlaw who has a phobia for responsibility.”

Vash patted his sides, striking a heroic pose. “Ho ho ho! When am I not responsible?!” Vash stumbled forward as a force beyond humanly possible shoved him aside.

The three of them watched as the determined vampire approached the house in wide strides that ate up the distance between him and the front door. Vash feared for the man who gave Milly his address, and when the screams attracted bystanders’ attention, he wished he had accompanied his brother. Wish a smug expression and impeccable posture, Knives crossed his arms before them.

“I simply terrified them, brother.” His eyes flashed a blue light, and the girls staggered at the sight of his glowing eyes.

“Oh, you can do that too, Mr. Knives?” Milly asked.

“I’m assuming my brother had been enraged enough to arouse this ability. That was how I discovered it.” A light crease formed between his brows when he noticed Vash drop his gaze. Knives speculated a Gung-Ho Gun member was involved and decided to avoid the story. “It’s simply an ability that heightens our vision in the dark.”

“How much did you get, Mr. Knives?”

The Plant reluctantly opened his sack and allowed her to peer inside. “The whole container.”

“Knives…” Vash pulled down his beard.

“Save it, Vash. I am celebrating a holiday and acting for the occasion.” He walked away from the others, and Milly followed him to the next house.

Surprising everyone, Knives allowed Milly to accompany him to the doors, and because of his intimidating physique and glowing eyes, they received fist fulls of candy. At times, if the one on the opposite side of the door was rude, they’d pour their entire containers in their bags. Vash was suspicious but swallowed his words when he noticed how happy Milly was. He even spotted fleeting grins on his twin that he attempted to conceal under a reserved demeanor. When they finally returned home, they discovered that the bowl of candy and the stand Vash bought had been stolen. After a snide remark about humanity’s greed from Knives, they simply shrugged at their losses.

It was near midnight when they tossed their bags on the counter, and Milly and Knives received the most to no ones surprise.

“How many people are going to have nightmares tonight, Knives?” Vash asked as he reached into his bag and began sucking on his sixth jawbreaker that night.

Knives stood while the others emptied their bags to examine what treats or toys they received. “Only that child from the beginning. I simply frightened others and demanded some to drop more into my bag, since I am their superior.” He failed to mention he had also demanded through telepathy for numerous humans to offer Milly the same amount. It was for his benefit since Milly offered to trade her taffy pieces for his gum ones… It was as simple as that.

“I think it’s about time I call it a night,” Meryl yawned as her chair scraped against the floor. “Even though we have the day off, I still have work to do. I don’t want to spend hours counting this.” She took the ripped costume with her.

“I’ll be right there, ma’am. Goodnight you two.” Milly waved before joining her best friend.

The silence between the brothers lingered for a few moments. The noise of Vash’s jawbreaker clinking against his teeth disturbed the silence.

“So… how was it?”

Knives gave an indifferent shrug then reached into his bag propped against the table. He took off his vampire teeth before flicking a taffy piece into his mouth.

“Wonder what we’ll do for Thanksgiving.”

Knives paused, then popped another sweet into his mouth. “Thanksgiving?”

“Yep! We’re gonna do a lot of holidays now. Christmas too!”

“Will you be dressing as the headless horseman for Christmas?”

Vash rubbed his neck sheepishly. “N-No! I was gonna save this outfit till then. Oh,” he took his beard off, “I forgot. I was thinking of dressing up for the children in the orphanage nearby.”

“Hmm.”

The silence remained once again as Knives unwrapped a dozen pieces of candy.

 _‘I know you’re not gonna like it, but I’m gonna say it anyway…’_ Vash began. _‘I’m proud of you today, Knives. Well, not for that one kid, but... this is all I’ve ever wanted…'_

_‘I must admit that the delectables are—‘_

_‘No! I mean being together. We were apart for so long, and now we can try to be a family again.’_

Knives focused his gaze on the wrappers littering the table in front of him. _‘I wanted nothing more than for you to be by my side, but now I’ve been by yours...’_

_‘I’ll always be here too! I want you to know that there’s always a spot here for you.’_

Knives curled his fingers between a wrapper. _‘I don’t know what to do.’_ He snarled because of himself.

Vash nodded. _‘Well, many people don’t know what they’ll do with their lives, either. We’re just lucky we have a long time to find it…’_ Vash hesitated but decided to act. _‘It doesn’t just have to be us, Knives. Do you see how much fun we can have with people? What if it were just us?’_

_‘It would be similar to when we’d travel the desert in our first fifteen years.’_

_‘We fought so often then. Well, we do now too, but we’re not often fighting over our ideals or whatever. At least not right now. We’re actually living! Unless... this isn’t what you want.’_

Knives’ shoulders slightly slumped.

“Hey,” Vash whispered, seizing Knives’ forearms, “I’ll always be here if you wanna talk about it, and even when you don’t want to. I’ll help you, but I won’t support Eden or you if it means hurting people. I won’t.”

Knives lifted his eyes and stared at Vash’s prosthetic hand. His brows furrowed at the touch of the manufactured limb, so different compared to the organic arm from their youth.

He had done that. It felt so long ago.

Vash decided to turn in for the night and asked when Knives would as well. He stated that he had other tasks to complete before retiring for the night.

When the girls and Vash awakened in the morning, they heard the sound of sizzling bacon and eggs. They were stupefied to discover that someone had meticulously sorted and organized all of their candies into containers with their favorites stacked together on the table. In the kitchen, Knives prepared his own plate and returned to his room without a word, leaving enough food for more than one person to enjoy.

Fanart of Milly's costume created by [Neon_D_lite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neon_D_lite/gifts)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed my take on a holiday fanfic/series. I've been going through chemotherapy since I've been recently diagnosed with a rare type of cancer... I'm mentioning this because it might be difficult for me to write future chapters, but I will still give it my all. I actually wrote, edited (special thanks to my friends for helping me), and finished the Christmas chapter after recovering from my first chemo session. I'll probably post each chapter during the month of the specific holiday... Yes, I skipped Thanksgiving for now. 
> 
> I'm really damn proud of this story and what I have planned for the future. Don’t forget to kudos and comment if you’re into that. Love responding to them. :)
> 
> P.S. The pacing and tone of this chapter is definitely different from the rest of the story. I’ll try editing it later.


	2. Goodbye For Now, Dear Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The post-anime gang celebrates Christmas. Is that it? Nope, this is more than just a holiday series now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would be a nice Christmas gift to become the owner of Trigun, but I am not nor ever will be. 
> 
> Yes, it is a bit early to be posting this Christmas chapter, and I’ll explain in the ending notes. Also, this is quite a long one.
> 
> Thank you wyluliwerewolf, Bay, and my other friends for helping with this chapter.

Knives ran. On the outskirts of town, a rock formation stood tall, casting a shadow that shielded wildlife from the suns. He leaned against it, drinking from his canteen as he recuperated. His platinum blond hair, longer than he was comfortable with, slumped over his forehead and clung to it.

It wasn’t the first time he ran for miles, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. 

Knives Millions lifted a steady hand to his wet hair, acknowledging the evidence of his exhaustion, and determining if he should complete another lap around New Oregon before returning home. He then pulled his legs in and rested his elbows on his knees, leaving his forearms to dangle between them as he observed the town in the distance.

Knives spent his morning running because of the intense argument he and Vash had before his brother left for work. It first began when Vash had overwatered Knives’ plants and gradually veered into a fierce dispute about their morals, philosophies, and motivations that Knives was unsure if he even followed completely anymore—not entirely.

Knives patted his neck with a moist cloth then rested it on his shoulder. He heaved a final breath before standing after covering his soaked tank top with his coat. The canteen jumped against his abdomen as he returned to the town, where humans were beginning their morning routines.

An uneventful Thanksgiving had passed, and the people of New Oregon were now preparing for Christmas. Vash had restored the SEEDS ship’s recreation rooms and learned how to grow crops using his talents, and eventually nurtured and donated Christmas trees at the beginning of the month. The colorful, reflective surfaces of the hanging decorations wrapped or hung to countless trees gave the town an engaging view.

He appeared confident, with his piercing blue eyes and impassive expression, but his heart raced whenever a human neared. It had taken him weeks to become accustomed to wandering the town whenever he chose, which wasn’t often. In their first house, furthest from most humans in New Oregon, he had to venture through a block of the town to reach the desert, but now he had to travel into the city to arrive at the gates on the newly constructed wall; bandits and other vermin were the motives for the construction project. Such threats had gotten Vash into more trouble than Knives was comfortable with.

When he neared the front door to their new two-story house, Knives hesitated and listened. He then nonchalantly glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at an alleyway. 

_‘There,’_ a high pitch voice thought, _‘almost looks just like the wanted poster! Vash the Stampede!’_

Knives turned from the door and walked toward the alley nearby, his posture excellent and his strides even. He was entertained by the startled mental voice he overheard, but when the wannabe bounty hunter pointed a gun at him, Knives halted and scowled at the imbecile. 

_‘You’re very fortunate I made a promise to my brother, garbage.’_ Knives’ voice spat venom. _‘You never saw me and my brother here. You recall seeing Vash the…’_ He rolled his eyes at his brother’s _name_. _‘Vash the Stampede in July City. Go there.’_

“I… Yeah! Yeah! Vash the Stampede was in July recently, right?!”

Knives watched the human turn the corner into the alleyway, hopefully never to be seen again. He then groaned, rubbing his temple. 

This was the seventh time this week someone had mistaken him for Vash. Knives had increased the range of his telepathy, altered the crashed ship’s previous residences’ memories regarding his brother, and not only did he have to overhear hundreds of voices, but he’d also prevent Vash from sensing his influence. Even if his brother understood why he often invaded the populace’s private thoughts, he would demand Knives stop his efforts in protecting him. 

Knives reached into his coat pocket for his pair of keys and opened the door to a decorated house. Stryfe and Vash had argued over how the tree was to be decorated, so when Vash lost the argument pathetically, he brought two trees home. Hanging from the mantle were stockings Stryfe had crafted herself and even stitched their names in near-perfect cursive.

Before taking a shower, Knives visited his garden, and when he entered the backyard, he knelt beside his apple tree. Its height was comparable to Stryfe—he named it after her just to spite the vexing woman—and it even held ripe red apples. On the other hand, his grapevines were wilting slightly, and he dealt with the complications accordingly. 

A shower, even though Knives intentionally kept them brief, was supposed to be a time of complete tranquility, but he sighed when he felt his brother’s presence nearing the house.

 _‘Why have you returned earlier than usual?’_ Knives sent as he dried himself. 

_‘Uh, I got a surprise for you! An early Christmas present!’_

After the fight they had, Knives was surprised Vash wanted to converse at all. 

Donning his custom SEEDS uniform, Knives descended the stairs and watched Vash tuck additional presents under Stryfe and Thompson’s tree, which was decorated in white and green; the other was blue and red. Vash straightened his back and presented Knives’ wrapped gift, a wide, welcoming grin on his face. The Plant skeptically raised a brow before feeling the contents through the wrapping. It felt oddly familiar… Pieces of…

“Taffy,” Knives said as he continued pressing his thumbs into the present. 

“I _knew_ I should’ve stuffed it in a box.”

Knives scoffed then opened the bag of sweets through the wrapping paper.

Vash rubbed the back of his neck. “They’re selling them again for Christmas. I thought you’d like to have them again.”

Knives gave a sharp nod of approval before turning toward the stairs to retreat into his room. 

“Hey, wait!” 

Knives stiffened at Vash’s sudden firm grip on his shoulder, and then followed his brother’s arm to his concerned face. 

“I’m sorry about this morning.”

Knives’ shoulder relaxed. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

“I-I do.” Vash dropped his arm. “I shouldn’t have brought all that up… I just…”

Knives faced his brother and noticed he had to look down from where he stood on the stairs. He ignored the odd sense of pride he felt from simply standing above his brother. “I held a grudge against you for over a century, Vash. It’s not surprising that you’ve kept some against me as well.”

“We…” Vash ran a hand through his spiked hair. “During the years we traveled together after landing here, we never talked about these things—not like this. I felt like I lost my brother, and whenever I tried to find him, you kept pushing me away. We keep ignoring them—pretending our mistakes never happened. We need to really talk about things…”

Despite living among humans, and countless periods of deep contemplation, Knives still hadn’t felt a moment of guilt for his actions toward humanity as a whole. During the Great Fall, he had only witnessed ships crashing into the planet and never grew attached. He had remained in his ships for the majority of his life—especially when Legato found the Gung-Ho Guns while he recovered in a bulb. That detachment had made it easy to maintain his resolve and justify his actions.

It was logical… It was...

Knives reflected on his behavior toward his brother.

“What’s there to discuss, Vash? I murdered the crew, hacked into the system, and caused the Great Fall. What should I say?”

Vash whimpered, staggering away from his brother with a look of dread. “Wh—What! You make it sound like it was some walk in the recreation room!”

Knives’ brows furrowed as he decided to avoid the subject entirely. He began ascending the steps.

“Knives! What about me?!” Vash lowered his eyes when Knives stopped. “I was scared back then… I… I was alone. You were there, but you were gone too. I didn’t want to give up on you, but… You wanted me to kill people knowing how much Rem meant to me—you said so on the escape pod. Then you kept trying to kill people, but I stopped you every time. Then you sent people to kill me. I thought my brother really wanted me dead.” Knives winced and Vash continued.

After they battled years ago at the geo-plant, Knives planned to never allow himself to be manipulated or conditioned by his brother. He opposed Vash’s words and actions as he was confined in a house, but... the skeptic Plant had lost, although he never admitted to it. The ferocious resolution to fight his brother gradually dissipated when Vash had simply hoped for Knives to listen then after speaking, he’d be freed.

And Knives had listened. 

It had taken weeks before Knives conceded and attempted to endure the necessary evil that was humanity to have his brother by his side, but eventually, Knives had affirmed that he stood by Vash’s side instead of the other way around.

“I wanted you to suffer…” Knives began. “I wanted you to experience the cruelties inflicted upon you by humanity—I knew they would,” he admitted in a soft voice, lowering his eyes to stare at the wall. He continued through telepathy. _'_ _ _T_ he first time I shot my Angel Arm at you during our last gunfight, I had planned to sever your legs with my energy and imprison you in a bulb. Then, the Angel Arms were impulsively aimed to kill before you shot them with that cross.” _ Knives released a humorless laugh, dryer than the desert. _'I_ _thought you were finally going to kill me when you aimed your Long Colt at me.’_ He lowered his arms awkwardly at his sides. _‘I feared that you had learned much from Legato’s death before you shot my arm and… I thought you were going to leave me the way you did after July.’_

Vash’s eyes became dull and empty for a moment before he raised his downcast eyes. “I… I’m sorry. I—”

“You really don’t listen, Vash.” Knives scowled at the stairs, gritting his teeth at the memories of Vash’s betrayals, but then he recalled everything he had done to his brother, his clenched fists slacked.

“Maybe it’s just…” Vash paused for a moment. “We just can’t understand the magnitude of the damage that happened because of our mistakes… If you think about it, what else can we do about our pasts?”

“What else can we do…” Knives glanced down at the stairs.

A soft smirk curved Vash’s lips. “The only thing we can do is to learn from our past…” A crease appeared between his brows. “If you start killing again, Knives, I’ll stop you.”

“I gave you my word, Vash. Only if it’s necessary.”

“Just don’t give me a reason to shoot you again.”

“Hm, at least you’ve improved your aim since the _first_ time.” And with that, Knives ascended the rest of the stairs.

He reached his room and pulled the chair to sit at his desk. On top was his computer, powered by the Plants of the crashed SEEDs ship, alongside the bag of taffy and the parts of a music box he nearly finished. He rubbed the slight dark circles under his eyes left by late nights of contemplation and began tinkering with the music box. 

There was a pain in his chest—he couldn’t occupy his mind enough to disregard it. 

He set the tools down and began reading an ancient copy of Moby Dick, but the stinging pain persisted in damaging his heart—almost impossible to ignore. The final task to rid himself of the internal pain was to complete a rigorous exercise routine he had subjected himself to for decades. He couldn’t for two decades after what had occurred in July, but as soon as he was able, he eventually trained to looked the epitome of vigor.

He was panting, and when his body began trembling under its own weight after hours of rigorous activities, he fell onto his bed, burying his face in his pillow. Right when he began to lose consciousness from exhaustion, his thoughts ran wild. Whether as a consequence of his state of being on the verge of slumber, he spoke words only his twin could ever hear. 

_‘I’m... sorry.”_

Knives was unsure how many hours had passed since he fell asleep, but when his eyes fluttered open, the artificial lights burned and he quickly shut them. He then pressed his head into the pillow, pulling the covers over himself. He then had to use his telepathy as a safety precaution since he was unsure of his brother's whereabouts. He listened to countless thoughts and found Vash, who Knives discovered was a few blocks away.

Why was he straining himself? Vash hadn’t been killed by the Gung-Ho Guns, the best killers among the humans. He didn’t require protection. Still, based on his lackeys’ reports, better to be cautious than not when it came to his brother’s spontaneous nature. Humans were deceptive and, although weak, could and had surprise his twin.

Knives reluctantly pulled his legs over the edge of the bed and sat upright. He cracked his bones and rid himself of a few knots here and there. He stood and went to drink from a flask he brought to his room so he could avoid the kitchen.

 _‘Knives?’_ someone whispered, _‘you awake?’_

Knives sighed at straining himself further with telepathy, but for his brother, he’d endure. _‘What is it?’_

_‘I’m coming back. Could you set up a few shot glasses? We’re celebrating!’_

Knives tightened his eyes shut and grimaced at the sudden shouting. _‘Lower your voice! I can hear you clearly!’_

_‘Okay, okay. Sorry.’_

_‘Consider it done.’_ Knives severed the connection and reluctantly made his way to the kitchen. 

When Vash returned with, not surprisingly, a box of a dozen donuts, Knives sat at the table with the glasses set. 

“Why exactly are we celebrating?” Knives asked, elbows on the table, chin propped on his hands. 

“Us!” Vash set the warm box beside the glasses and entered the kitchen. 

“Oh? Have you finally accepted that we are a superior breed among the—”

“No!” Vash set a new bottle of vodka on the table, one of the strongest on the market, and poured himself and Knives shots. _‘We actually talked about our problems after so long! You not only apologized to me, you already did so to Milly about Wolfwood!’_

Knives’ face contorted and he eyed the shot with disgust. He then recalled what he sent Vash before sleeping. _‘You don’t even know what the apology was for!’_

Vash gripped the glass and jerked his head back so suddenly Knives could’ve sworn he heard his neck snap. He then proceeded to gulp the shot in one go to then slam the glass, cracking the base. 

_‘Nope, but it’s a start! Thank you.’_

“You have work tomorrow.”

“Yeaaaah, but I asked the Doc to give me the rest of the week off until the 26th. He’ll need my help with preparing for the Plant the city bought and will instill late next year.”

Knives felt the urge to toss the glass’ contents at his brother’s cheeky smile and return to his room, but when he raised his eyes, he noticed Vash’s smile turned genuine. He sighed and raised the glass to examine the liquid sloshing inside. 

One. Shot. It was the least Knives could do for his brother during the holidays.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just _one_ shot. 

Sometime later, the front door opened and the insurance girls returned. 

“If I wouldn’t lose my job, I’d kick Kevin’s—” Stryfe paused. Before either one could announce their arrival, they froze, staring at the scene before them. 

“C’mon! I—Winning!” Vash slurred as he attempted to down another shot, but his glass had been empty for some time.

“No! Y...You—You’re not!” Knives roared, and then he snatched the bottle, taking a generous drink before handing it to his brother. “I-I’m a… I’m the superior one be—between us!” He jabbed a thumb into his chest for emphasis. 

“Mr. Knives, Mr. Vash, you two are drinking without me!” Thompson whined and hung her coat on the rack before taking a seat beside Knives. 

Vash balanced himself in his seat and set the bottle on the table. He attempted to pour another shot, but Knives grabbed Vash’s glass and set it before Thompson. While Vash sat stunned, Knives proceeded to pour shots for himself and Thompson.

“Hey, why did you steal my glass?!” Vash demanded. 

“Th...is’ll place you at a d-d...disadva… I’m three shots ahead of you… After this.” Knives raised his chin as a sign of superiority and downed the shot, and Thompson giggled before doing the same. 

Vash wobbled in his seat but remained patient as his brother poured himself another shot. Before Knives could firmly grasp it, Vash snatched it and drank.

“Ok, that’s enough,” Stryfe said authoritatively, tapping a foot and crossing her arms. “Save some for the rest of us and stop spreading Plant germs everywhere.” She yanked the vodka bottle from Knives, who resisted moments after it left his grasp. 

“But Meryl, don’t you like Mr. Vash’s Plant germs?”

Both men froze, one of them too drunk to completely process what was happening. Vash smirked at Stryfe and stood before her, his body swaying side to side. She glared at Thompson, who smiled brightly at the rare sight of a drunken Knives. 

“I—I think Knives had enough…” Vash palmed his face and began rubbing his cheeks. “He win.”

“I…” Knives’ vision blurred, resembling a shimmering stream. “Of course I d-did.”

Thompson took everyone’s shot glasses to the sink and brought the men water. For Knives, she filled one of his wine glasses with the precious liquid. She set them down and chose a pink donut from the box Vash brought, which was left undisturbed for a while. 

“Mr. Vash, you haven’t eaten any yet.”

“N-Nooope. Thirsty.” The outlaw shook his head before chugging his water. “Aaaah, I’m alive again!”

Even under the influence of alcohol, Knives held onto the stem of the wine glass and took steady sips. When he realized it contained water, he drank plentifully until it was empty. Thompson went to refill their glasses once again. 

“Here, _Lord_ Knives _,”_ Stryfe handed Knives an envelope, and the Plant raised his brows before narrowing them. 

“I jus’ got paid.”

Stryfe snorted at his un-Knivesness voice and placed the envelope on the table. “It’s a Christmas party invitation from the chief at Bernardelli.”

“Why would—”

“A party!” Vash dragged the envelope across the table and lifted it to his face to examine the lettering closely. “Why does Knives get invited to these things? He’s a party pooper!”

Knives prepared to retort, but he sunk back into his seat when Thompson set his glass down. In truth, he’d admit to himself that he wasn’t enthusiastic about such nonsense. He had learned that during his first birthday, and he was reminded of it when Legato had attempted to celebrate his birthday while Knives was regenerating in a bulb. Even for the past few years, Knives avoided the birthday parties Vash planned. Now, Knives wondered if he’d still be as resistant to such an occasion. He wasn’t coordinated enough at the moment to judge thoroughly. 

“Wow, you sobered up already,” Stryfe commented, standing beside the outlaw on his chair. 

“Uh, no…”

“Mr. Knives, it’s okay if you can’t handle drinking well.”

“Isn’t he a _superior being_?” Stryfe whispered to Vash. 

“I can hear you…” Knives massaged his forehead. Although his vision remained distorted, he could comprehend their conversation. “Water is a significant factor in aiding us with our recovery from certain ailments, such as those caused by toxins—alcohol.” Even so, Knives still felt nauseous and he clenched his teeth as if that would prevent him from retching. 

“Are you going or not?”

Knives dropped his hand on the table and raised his fatigued gaze at the insurance woman. 

“Fine. There’ll be too many people anyway.” Stryfe shrugged. 

Vash shouted, “I’ll go!”

“What!” She and Knives yelled, and they glanced at each other before returning their piercing glares at the outlaw. 

“Come on! I’m the handsome one between us, but I can pretend to be him. Is his name on it?” Vash began unfolding the envelope. 

As Knives watched Vash free the invitation, the Plant was having difficulty grasping onto the magnitude of his brother’s foolishness. Without a doubt, the humans at Bernardelli would recognize him. Knives had analyzed paperwork regarding outlaws who pretended to be the Humanoid Typhoon. Knives had even seen pictures of Vash’s actual face within such reports from ages ago.

“No, you—” Knives paused as a sudden nauseous sensation crawled up his throat. “You’re not going.”

“You’ll have a great time,” Thompson chirped while eating the donut. “The chief said—”

“Neither of us are going because, if you’re not aware by now, I chose to work at our residence because I, unfortunately, resemble the world’s most wanted fool!”

Vash slapped the table and used it to propel himself to lean closer to his twin. “No one’s even recognized this handsome face after all this time! Not a single bounty or anything.”

Stryfe took the invitation from Vash and gave him a smug look. “I don’t know about handsome…” She raised her arm to cough into it, but Knives noticed that her cheeks became flushed. 

Although a voice warned Knives it was disgusting for a human to have such feelings for his twin, another part of himself had always noticed the attraction Stryfe had toward Vash. The Plant had once concluded that Stryfe selfless deeds were her way of serving a superior being, but then he’d recall how Rem had once done small—near insignificant—acts of kindness for him. She had mentioned what people would do for the ones they loved romantically or for those in a platonic relationship. Thompson and Stryfe were two humans that proved Knives of Vash’s beliefs on humanity’s potential. Two examples out of the millions on the planet… However, Vash had also stated they should cherish those that demonstrated humanity at its best. 

Stryfe’s attraction was obvious, but it didn’t disturb Knives as much as it once had.

Perhaps he was too intoxicated. 

“Knives is right, Vash,” Stryfe interrupted Knives’ thoughts. “I’m surprised no one’s noticed you by now since some people here came from the ship and they don’t supposedly like you anymore.”

Knives scowled at the thought of the humans from the crashed ship. The humans Vash once considered _family_ had betrayed and blamed him for events beyond his control. He wouldn’t voice it, but Knives was still glad Legato had ordered the Gung-Ho Guns to decrease the population before the ship fell. Some of the humans that inhabited the ship now lived in New Oregon and had malicious thoughts about Vash until Knives altered their minds. 

If it weren’t for Knives’ promise to Vash, he would’ve found a way to destroy the town himself. Perhaps he could overload one of the Plants on the ship...

“Knives, are you okay?”

The Plant in question aimed daggers toward his twin, who didn’t flinch. “It would be idiotic to attend this celebration, Vash.” 

Vash pouted, and Knives maintained an aloof expression, but his hardened eyes and jaw jutting out revealed his true emotions. Vash wasn’t a child, and Knives had scolded him that such behaviors shouldn’t be exhibited by a superior being. Although, an inner voice—a _possible_ manifestation of some untapped guilt—told him Vash’s behavior was harmless. Irritating, but that was who Vash was.

Knives had always believed Vash was wrong. He lived under flawed morals—an illogical, sentimental mass of contradictions. Over a century had passed since Knives had lived with Vash, and he had had the opportunity to truly observe his twin himself. The fool was empathetic, affectionate, generous… Similarly to their sisters. They were all naive, and Knives was confident that he had managed to distance himself from the spiders’ webs that had ensnared his family for decades. That was his purpose—to exterminate vermin and create an Eden so he and Vash could be freed. 

After months of observation, Knives had understood one thing about his brother that he hadn’t considered: Vash hadn’t entirely neglected who he was—a Plant—even if the fool had always avoided his heritage in regards to their physiology. 

His sisters gave too much to the humans, and Knives had always been disgusted by the fact. However, he had known that his family gave much of themselves for each other—not just for humans. Through telepathy, they offered their support, hummed melodies only enjoyed by other Plants, and were usually attentive whenever Knives vented or rambled. Some even expressed forgiveness for Knives’ sins against their kind as a result of the Great Fall and the Angel Arm incidents.

Vash had always acted as a Plant in his own way, but Knives had felt betrayed that he was treated differently. Granted, Knives had taken a lot from his brother. Just as the humans he despised had carved into Vash’s flesh, peeling and ripping parts of him, Knives had realized he had behaved similarly to a human toward his brother. He came to this conclusion while he was still lying bedridden with bullets in his body, conversing with Vash. His brother hadn't continued the preaching about his decisions and beliefs that Knives so despised. No, Vash admitted that his previous way of life had gotten people hurt or killed and that perhaps, at times, killing is justifiable—though it should always be a last resort if possible.

Knives had listened to Vash then. His words were his own. No longer was he chained to Rem’s impossible views—not entirely. Vash was… Vash. Knives had no idea how else to describe his brother since he was unlike any other. 

And Knives had acted similarly to the humans he despised.

_‘Knives?”_

The Plant’s stiff posture relaxed as he leaned back in his chair while Stryfe continued to nag about their behavior. One glance toward his brother and Knives knew Vash wasn’t paying attention despite nodding at Stryfe occasionally. 

_‘What?’_

“Well, I’ve never stopped living because of my bounty and I’m not gonna stop now!” Vash interrupted Stryfe. “I don’t even have the coat anymore and I’ll style my hair differently! How about wearing my Santa hat to hide it all? If Knives doesn’t wanna go, I’ll go. If he does go, then I wanna join too!”

Knives examined his possibilities while Stryfe and Vash began bickering once again. Vash would attend the occasion no matter what Knives chose, and knowing the drinking sessions and smaller parties Vash often attended in bars, Knives knew a holiday party would last for hours on end. He simply didn’t have the energy to send his telepathic influence across the city—especially for hours. He could remain beside the Bernardelli building, but he never learned how to control the direction of his talent unless it was to invade the minds of a few humans, so he’d not only overhear and control the thoughts of Bernardelli employees, he’d also invade the privacy of humans surrounding the building. 

The Plant reached for the invitation, and before Vash could grab it, Knives began ripping it in long strips, which he turned to square pieces of confetti. He pushed the ruined papers over the table and crossed his arms while Vash stared at Knives’ _invitation_. 

“That’s okay, Knives. It's one of those huge get-togethers for anyone associated with an employee kind of party!” Vash grinned as he gathered the pieces and tossed them over Knives. 

The older twin’s frown deepened. 

“Vash, you’re making an even bigger mess,” Stryfe complained. “I’m not cleaning it.”

“I’ll clean it!” Thompson said and began pinching the torn pieces of paper off of Knives, who stiffened.

“Milly,” Stryfe began, “you’re not responsible for a man-baby and—”

“Fine, Vash.” Knives spoke in a cold tone. The younger brother’s smile dropped. “I’ll accompany you.” He then stared at the stranded piece of the torn invitation on the table. “However, if someone recognizes you, we will leave.”

Vash quirked a brow. “I know you, _brother._ You’ll probably do some mind trick to get someone to recognize me. You know I don’t want you to do that. I regret letting you during Halloween.” 

Sometimes Knives forgot that his brother was intelligent; however, Vash hadn’t suspected the reason why the fool wasn’t pursued by humans was _because_ of those _mind tricks._

It seemed Vash only expected Knives to utilize his gifts to harm others, which was a wise thought to consider, but it still irritated the Plant since his words were worth more than a mere vermin’s. 

Hadn’t he been proving himself? Hadn’t Vash forgiven him—trusted him? 

Knives continued to sip from his drink while the others conversed. When he had enough, Knives excused himself to retreat to his room and ordered the others not to disturb him. He was simply too tired once again, and even after drinking water, he felt the familiar aches of a hangover. He was a wine enthusiast, so he had deliberately overdone it at times throughout his life. 

Knives wasn’t the type to give up easily since for the next few days he attempted other methods to convince his twin not to attend the party. All of them failed. Would anything go his way for once? 

Eventually, they all prepared for the party. Knives didn’t dare to wear his SEEDS suit; it would attract too much attention. Instead, he wore his long, black peacoat since that time of the year it was cooler than usual. Vash had brought it for him, and the Doc had fastened newly developed lost technology that allowed it to regulate temperatures. Vash also wore a matching one, except it was brown and shorter than Knives’.

The party was occurring on the fourth floor of the Bernardelli building. The girls led the twins to the elevators, and when Knives realized other people were taking them, he used the stairs. He had visited the building on numerous occasions on the days when humans were mostly absent. Working for humans was and always would be beneath him, but he had no choice unless he wanted Stryfe and Vash to nag him to death while he constantly used his telepathy. 

Perhaps his brother wouldn’t notice or care for his absence. Knives decided to wait and see as he leaned against a wall between flights of stairs. It was cowardly to avoid the humans, and even though he’d often excuse his behavior toward them as his way of not gracing them with his superior presence, Knives knew Vash and the women knew the true reasons. 

Knives was feeling the dull ache of a developing headache from using his telepathy and listening to the overwhelming thoughts from dozens of humans. He had to because Vash wouldn’t do it for himself in case one would recognize him.

_‘Knives, where are you?’_

The Plant leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He glanced at the stairs leading to the next floor and overheard voices and laughter from the party above. 

_‘If you’re really uncomfortable, you don’t have to come. I’m sure your adoring fans will understand.’_

Knives scowled. _‘My what? Plant worshipers?’_

_‘No!’_

Knives raised his head to the light shining on his face. He saw a spot of red heading down the steps and his little brother eventually stood before him in a Santa hat.

“You don’t have to be here, Knives. There are a lot of people at this party—more than I thought. I know people make you uncomfortable…”

Knives snarled, mainly at himself. He had once spent weeks in July while waiting for Vash, had remained naked in a bulb in front of Legato for decades, and even lived among them for years. He was a superior being—a Plant! Humans were beneath him, and if Vash could be among them effortlessly, so could he. 

Knives kept his arms crossed over his chest while purposely walking around his brother to reach the stairs to the upper floor. They were human garbage! They meant nothing and were noth—

Knives widened his eyes and his arms dropped at the sight of dozens of humans conversing amongst each other in close proximity. 

_‘It’s not too late to turn back,’_ Vash sent to him. 

Knives watched humans group together in herds, swinging their Santa hats with each sudden movement. Most drank booze, while others held onto trays with delectables. Tables lined the walls, displaying organized trays of delectables. Knives recognized only the insurance women, who were conversing near the Christmas tree at the corner of the room. 

Knives heaved a sigh to calm his racing heart. Ignoring his brother, he found the most vacant part of the room and leaned against the wall with arms crossed. He watched Vash approach the women, and despite the unfortunate situation he found himself in, Knives was grateful that the humans were too occupied with their trivial conversations to notice him or his brother for the most part. 

_‘Oh, I forgot,’_ Vash spoke mentally, _‘some of your fans were asking about you earlier!’_

Knives crossed his legs while standing and sharply lowered his brows. _‘Humans here shouldn’t know me well enough to acknowledge my name.’_ He rubbed his temples after having to constantly overhear the humans while conversing with his brother.

_‘Uh…’_

Knives snarled, which prompted two women strolling past to flinch and away from the antisocial Plant. _‘What, Vash?’_ he spat. 

_‘Well, Milly kind of mentioned you and how you work from home. People kind of put things together because you’re one of the only employees they know nothing about.’_

Knives groaned when he spotted his brother and a few unrecognizable women approaching him. The Plant could simply order them to turn away, but Vash would’ve noticed something was wrong the minute they veered to the tables. His brother wasn’t entirely stupid, unfortunately. 

_‘If you value their lives, dear brother, you’d retreat.’_ He glared at his twin as he froze. _‘Now.’_

“Okay! I think I saw my brother over here!” Vash shouted, which prompted the humans to glance at him. 

“But he looks just like y—” One of the women was pushed to the side and took hold of the other. 

“Never seen that man before in my life.” Vash winked at Knives, and the older sibling rolled his eyes. 

Knives remained in his space, and whatever he saw anyone attempt to approach him, he manipulated people around him to maintain his secrecy. He also kept an eye on Vash, but as the first hour passed, the headache began to sting and throb into a migraine. He’d endure.

Thompson approached him with two plastic cups. She smiled, tilting her head in greeting, while Knives maintained an expression of indifference.

“I thought you might be thirsty,” she said and handed him a cup. 

Knives reluctantly accepted the offer and sniffed the liquid as he sloshed it around. Yes, alcohol was definitely mixed with the eggnog. It was subtle, but he smelled the chemicals through the eggs and cream. He had recently been drunk, and even knowing his body could handle the meager dosage, he wasn’t going to risk making a fool of himself similarly to his twin. 

Vash became intoxicated alongside the careless humans. His shouting attracted everyone’s attention, which was in Knives’ favor since everyone ignored him, but that meant humans would notice his brother. There was one human who particularly aggravated him—a human he’d soon know well: Kevin. 

Kevin was beside Stryfe and by the looks of it, she continued to demand the human leave her presence. Vash was oblivious to the _subtlety,_ but Knives remained focused on the male. Kevin moved on to other women and memories surfaced when the man talked with certain ones.

“—Kevin‘s been trying to ask Meryl out for weeks, but we know her,” Thompson said, unaware that Knives had been focusing his attention elsewhere. “Meryl likes someone else.”

Knives’ eye twitched. “It’s Vash.”

She clapped the side of her cup, eyes widened and mouth curved. “Wow, you noticed too?!”

He snorted, which was such a humiliating thing to hear from himself. “It’s obvious.” _She’s always thinking about him!_

“Yeah, Meryl isn’t really subtle with that sort of thing.” She shrugged. “It’s really cute.”

“No.”

“Oh? Then how would you describe it, Mr. Knives?”

Knives’ lips shrugged. “Disgusting.” 

Less than an hour had passed and Knives was prepared to leave. The constant bombardment of thoughts, the trivial topics humans screeched about, and the memories Kevin continued to _reminisce_ on aggravated Knives to the point of seeking to strangle the revolting human.

This human reminded him of Steve. That beast had done something similar to women. Even to Rem at one point. 

“Mr. Knives, are you alright?” Thompson glanced at Knives’ now cracked cup. Eggnog soaked the sleeve of his coat, and when she followed his arm to his face, she flinched at his expression.

Knives couldn’t do a damn thing! If he did anything, Vash would surely… Why should he do anything? They were pathetic humans and his brother was a fool. He wouldn’t waste his time with their insignificant business. 

Knives watched Vash approach Stryfe, and, of course, his idiot brother would flirt with her while intoxicated. Despite Vash’s reputation as the worst womanizer, Knives hadn’t seen him act inappropriately toward another human female other than Stryfe. 

Kevin walked to them, a look of rage contorting his face. Knives couldn’t take much more. He dropped the remnants of the crushed cup and rubbed his forehead with the other hand. If he didn’t use his telepathy, the humans would surely notice his brother. If he—

While Knives was immersed in thought, Kevin yanked Vash’s collar toward him, and Vash yelped in response. “You son of a bitch! You’re dead! Don’t you talk to her again!”

Knives let his rage finally take hold. 

He would kill this human. 

Knives’ heart pounded in his chest and his body trembled with anger. He rushed down the stairs, nearly tripping as he descended them. 

_‘Knives?!’_

The Plant clenched his teeth, breathing as deeply as he could, but his anger refused to cool. He hadn’t felt this magnitude of rage since being shot by Vash years ago, and he had to find an alternative means to harness it productively.

The public remained oblivious to the events that transpired as Knives avoided his brother as he returned home. He regarded Vash’s voice when he reached the stairs to the second floor.

“Knives!”

Knives attempted to send a message, but he felt nauseous after the strain he endured throughout the day. His brother was clueless about everything as usual. Knives tied his shoes, adjusted his shirt, and grabbed his canteen. Vash then pounded on his bedroom door after he finished dressing. 

“Knives, why!” Vash frantically turned the knob, but Knives locked it. “You almost killed him! Why?”

Knives shook his canteen and felt the hollow space and knew he’d suffer from some heatstroke without water if he were to exercise. He began filling the canteen with sink water, then he debated climbing out the window.

“Please, let me help. What happened? The guy was just getting to Meryl through me, okay. Apparently, he does that…”

“Making excuses for the vermin once again?” Knives stood in the middle of the room before lifting his eyes to the door and spat, “It’s _human nature_.”

“Knives, it’s one thing to hurt someone physically, but it’s another to do it mentally. Why? Were you… using telepathy before that?”

Knives turned to the window then clenched his fists, shoulders shook as the rage continued to boil his blood. “Yes.” He attempted to hide the venom in his tone. 

“Knives…”

_‘What, Vash?! Are you going to lecture me about the value of human privacy?!’_

_‘... You almost killed him. You didn’t have to do that! You promised—’_

Knives flung open the door and stood before his brother with a posture that evoked confidence. Nothing in his current state hinted at remorse. “I’ve kept my word. That vermin is still breathing.”

Vash scowled, his posture stiffening. “You nearly took his mind from him! He would’ve been alive, but who he is would’ve disappeared!”

“So now you’re specifying what’s alive and not?”

“Tell me the truth! Why did you attack someone with telepathy? Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

Knives’ expression softened before his eyes hardened once again. Pushing his brother aside, he strode to the stairs. Before he reached the bottom, Vash clasped onto his shoulder.

Knives stiffened at the contact. “I have been using my telepathy almost continuously not long after we moved into our current residence,” he admitted, which prompted Vash to drop his hand from his shoulder. “With the sudden increase in the population last month, it’s been a tedious endeavor to hear everyone’s thoughts or alter them.” Knives narrowed his eyes at the reflective streams of Christmas decorations around the handrails of the stairs. 

“Y-You’ve been listening to everyone! Why?! You shouldn’t be doing that! People deserve their privacy! They don’t deserve someone controlling them! No one deserves that powerless feeling…”

Knives winced at the memory of July. Then he reflected on when he was powerless after Vash shot his thigh. Knives opened his mouth, but his brother spoke first. 

“You can’t do that to people anymore!”

Knives scoffed and began descending the stairs again. “You’re a fool, Vash—that’ll never change. You honestly believe you’ve been living a peaceful life because the humans around us don’t recognize you?” He reached for the front door, but Vash slammed his palm against it. 

“They don’t often connect me to my reputation!”

Releasing his grip on the knob, Knives met Vash’s eyes and narrowed his own. “For months I’ve been commanding humans to _reconsider_ their thoughts or actions against you. The humans who lived on the ship still hold a grudge, Bernardelli employees at times recognized you, and not long ago a bounty hunter mistook me for you.” He dropped his glare to stare at his shoes. Then, a flash of fury appeared in his eyes, and his face wrinkled in malice. “Fine. I will not interfere. Let them all harm Stryfe and Thompson for harboring a fugitive. Let the humans hurt you; they’ve been doing an excellent job for the past hundred years!” 

Before Vash could stop him, Knives yanked the door open and stormed out of the house. Just a millisecond away from losing himself to his temper, Knives was somewhat relieved he no longer had his black Long Colt that could annihilate everything around him. 

The aggravated Plant kept a rushed pace with wide strides, and his brother wasn’t far behind. Now more than ever, people watched him and Vash storm through the area. He instinctively reached out with his telepathy but reminded himself that Vash wished to risk his life instead of their privacy. 

So be it, let his brother suffer the consequences. 

Vash continued to follow while scolding him either verbally or through telepathy himself, which only made Knives’ body tremble with irritation. He maneuvered through humans to reach the gate to leave town, but Vash had enough and pulled him into an alleyway. 

“You can’t run from this! You can’t—”

“I’m not the one who runs away!” Knives shouted as he roughly yanked his arm from Vash’s grip. “If you wish to lecture me, then prepare one when I get back! I’m _one_ second away from throwing you against the wall!” He left the alleyway and trudged on the way to the city’s gate, already exhausted by exercising his abilities before. 

“You promise we’ll talk about this later,” Vash said, almost demanding. 

Knives gestured with his hands dismissively and continued walking.

Now that he was at a great enough distance, Knives slowed his pace then abruptly stopped in the least crowded intersection. He had once again acted out of anger. That human that harassed the women reminded him of their childhood tormenter, the first human Knives ever murdered. Then the human garbage at the party went after his brother, and he couldn’t simply stand by and allow it.

Why did his brother allow humans to harm him?

It took over an hour, but Knives managed to reach a stable state of mind.

If it wasn’t for the very Plant physiology Vash had been afraid of his whole life, the fool would’ve died decades ago by allowing vermin to torment him. He would’ve been the same as Rem—dying for the sake of the humans. Knives couldn’t stand it. 

Let him die then. Let him suffer. 

Knives snapped his head up from staring at the sand, veering behind him toward what resembled the echo of a gunshot. It wasn’t uncommon for such a thing to occur, but his telepathy had been disturbed. It was a familiar sensation, one he connected to his brother… 

_‘Knives…’_

Vash’s weak voice startled him. _‘Vash?’_

Knives reached into the minds of dozens of people, and when he heard their sickening thoughts near the weak signal from his brother, he ran to the scene. A moment later, he turned corners and nearly stumbled as he analyzed the scene before him. Humans huddled over an area on the sidewalk, and when he pushed through them, he spotted golden spikes. 

“Vash!” Knives shoved through humans to kneel before his brother. 

Vash clutched onto his chest where blood began seeping through his clothes. Based on the trail of red darkening the sand, Vash had managed to crawl behind a support beam in front of someone’s house. Knives ordered the humans to shield him and Vash from the perpetrator until Vash was stabilized. 

Knives forced Vash’s hands off his chest so he could examine the extent of the damage. Luckily for his twin, the bullet missed his heart by a few millimeters. 

“Knives…” Vash uttered as he attempted to reach for Knives’ hand. “Don’t… kill th…”

“Be quiet,” Knives demanded softly. 

Knives tore through Vash’s blood-soaked coat and shirt to firmly palm against the hole, and was grateful that the bullet had passed through. He inhaled slowly before releasing his breath at a steady pace. He continued this breathing method until he felt the familiar prickling warmth radiate from the gates within his arms. Similarly to their sisters, Knives and Vash had the ability to transfer energy to heal their wounds—an ability Knives had discovered when they were children, which was a different talent from healing himself only. Now, Knives was beyond knowledgeable with who he was and channeled his energy in an effort to repair his twin. 

While healing Vash, Knives gathered the information he needed from the human witnesses. Apparently, his sentimental twin had offered to assist a group of children with hanging their Christmas decorations before being gunned down by an unknown assassin. While sealing the hole, Knives searched for the human responsible, and when he found the filth, he gritted his teeth as the mental strain began to weaken him. The garbage had positioned himself on the roof, and Knives used everything in his power to force him to remain where he stood.

The migraine, throbbing and burning, was beyond anything Knives had ever felt before; worse than being shot at multiple times. He nearly lost consciousness as he continued to pour his energy into his brother, and when pink flesh finally covered the hole, Knives nearly lost his balance and toppled over Vash. He straightened himself on his knees and wiped the sweat from his face. Neglecting his own health, he sent an urgent message to Stryfe and Thompson to carry Vash home. He didn’t trust the humans around him. 

By the time the women arrived, Vash had lost consciousness while Knives had to stabilize himself on his knees using the nearest wall. Thompson reassured him that she was able to carry Vash without harming him. When the women began questioning him, the Plant reached for his rage and ignored his fatigued state to confront the human who dared to harm his brother. 

On the rooftop, a block away was a human, who stationed himself on the roof after recognizing Vash. When and how Knives never read this human’s thoughts before, he was unsure. Perhaps the human had kept his distance enough for Knives to be overburdened with the nearest humans’ thoughts. It didn’t matter. The garbage’s life was meaningless. 

To avoid entering the building, he found the fire escape and began ascending metal ladders and staircases. Releasing a long breath, Knives reached the top and his eyes bored into the human’s pathetic skull. The man seemed normal for a human, but he had a rifle of some sort positioned while a duffle bag sat beside his trembling form. 

With narrowed eyes, Knives glared at the terrified man sprawled on the ground, snarling. With his mouth forced closed, the man mentally pleaded to God. Knives then slowly closed his eyes as a memory began playing. Voices. He knew them well. One was his own, and the other belonged to his foolish brother.

Knives freed the man’s mind and watched him crawl away.

_No one has the right to take the life of another._

The Plant pulled the man to his feet by the collar, knotting the cotton in his fists. His cold scowl and twitching eye paralyzed the filth.

_Knives, I..._

He ignored Vash’s voice within the memory as he began digging into the human’s mind to destroy him. 

_What, Vash?_

He briefly shook his head as the memory continued to play. He pulled one hand away and reached for the animal’s neck. Psychological trauma wasn’t enough. 

_I, uh…_

He gripped the neck with both hands, fingers snaked around it, thumbs pressed against the laryngeal prominence. The vermin began desperately gasping for breath. 

_Vash, are you about to partake in that ‘guessing game’ again? What is it?_

The insect gripped onto Knives’ arms in a vain attempt to free himself. Knives grinned maliciously at the cowering creature, who began spilling tears and sorrowful words regarding the welfare of his family. 

How dare it plead for its family when it had almost taken his! 

_N-No! No, it’s just that… Thank you._

His veins strained as if they were attempting to break from his pale skin. His knuckles whitened as his digits and fingernails dug into the neck, drawing blood. 

_For what, dear brother?_

Nasal mucus and saliva mixed with the blood dripping from the gashes made by Knives’ fingernails. He would’ve been disgusted if he weren’t occupied with watching the vermin’s eyes dart rapidly around him. 

_For not killing them… People. Humans. It’s just…_

As the pulse decelerated beneath his grip, Knives’ smile widened. 

_What now? Have I glared at a human incorrectly, Vash?_

If it wasn’t for Knives’ strength, the brute would’ve fallen. 

_No! It’s just… I just—promise me you won’t kill anyone._

Knives shut his eyes. His grip on the human began loosening. 

He recalled taking a long time to consider his brother’s request. 

_I promise, Vash. I will not kill humans. Although, only if such an act would be appropriate for the situation._

This was such a moment! This filth deserved to die! So many did! So many would die!

Knives reached for his left arm as it trembled while holding the man’s neck. Vash would understand why he had to do it.

Knives lowered his head and bared his teeth. He squeezed the man’s throat.

Then he released the human. As the body thudded, Knives’ hardened face began softening. 

Vash had _said_ he forgave him. Would his brother speak of forgiveness again if he took this human's life?

As much as Knives loathed this human, he wouldn’t be responsible for taking his life. This human’s life wasn’t worth losing his brother over. He reached into the vermin’s mind and forced him to admit to nearly murdering an innocent _human_ to the local sheriff’s office. Hopefully the human would be lynched or shot as punishment.

Despite sparing that filth’s life, something within Knives began scrutinizing him for offering mercy to a human. That animal should’ve died… What a predicament. Now he was a walking contradiction! 

The house was active as Knives listened from the front patio. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head at the thought of his brother lecturing him. Well, he snapped out of it because he’d rather endure his brother’s whining than to never hear his voice again. He tried to open the door, but it was locked.

 _‘Thompson, open the door.’_ He would’ve presented himself in a more dignified manner, but he was beyond exhausted. 

“Mr. Knives, what happened? Mr. Vash fell asleep and we didn’t have time to ask anyone,” she asked as her eyes glistened and tear trails stained her cheeks. 

Knives combed his hair back with a trembling hand before forcing himself to calm down. “A bounty hunter shot him. The moron was assisting others in decorating their home, and no doubt he was distracted.” He pulled the canteen strap over his head and held it. “Where’s Stryfe?”

“She’s with him. Are you alright?”

“Do not disturb us until I say so.” He began ascending the stairs. 

Knives nearly barged in before he overheard Stryfe weeping in Vash’s room. He knocked, and as she prepared herself, he crossed his arms and hid his concern for Vash well, except for a subtle crease between his brows. She opened the door, her eyes still puffy and red from weeping. 

“He’s awake…” She lowered her eyes and fidgeted with her fingers clasped together in front of her. “Are you…”

“Leave. Do not disturb us.”

She understood and stepped around Knives to reach for the stairs. He pushed the door open and stepped inside to see his brother facing him on his pillow. A cloth was placed on his forehead, he was shirtless, and a glass of water with melting ice remained on the nightstand. 

Vash’s narrowed eyes focused on Knives, and when tears dripped down his temple, Knives kept his distance, paralyzed at the sight. 

“Did you kill him?”

Knives closed the door, but he continued to face it and stared at his blurred reflection on the doorknob. “If I am to answer honestly?”

Vash grimaced, but after a few silent moments, his head sunk into the pillow and faced away from Knives. “I-I’d be really disappointed… You promised, but…” Vash turned his head to face his brother, and his expression softened. “People make mistakes… I’d probably say I’d forgive you for breaking your promise or something.” He narrowed his eyes before closing them and said nothing else. 

Knives scoffed. “Really, Vash? After everything? How many mistakes could one make before such forgiveness cannot be given? You killed one human while I ended millions—Plants as well. Millions as a one-year-old boy. How could you possibly lay there and excuse humans who do this to you? And when I…” He scowled before his whole body stiffened. 

Vash contemplated Knives’ words for a moment before meeting his eyes again with an authentic smirk. “We thought our ways of life were right. I… I often forced others to see things the way I thought—was determined—was the right way, which was what you did to me. We’ve both been like this for over a century, Knives. Forcing our ways on people when maybe—maybe… We’re wrong in some way. The thing is… My way wasn’t easy. It cost Wolfwood his life, almost mine countless times, and… your way hurt me. You tried to force me to believe in you, and I tried to preach about my ideals... I just don’t want to decide to take a life if I can avoid it, but if I absolutely have to, I might have to. We can do better, Knives... We’re _superior,_ right?” Vash forced himself to sit up with trembling arms. He then reached for the glass just out of reach, but before he strained himself further, Knives offered the cup. “I do want Eden, but it can’t just be with you. I can’t accept creating that world over the blood of the innocent and not.”

Knives felt heavier than ever before, and to stabilize himself, he sat on the end of the bed, facing away from his twin. Just as Knives hated it when Vash preached about the value of human life, Knives had realized he had done the same thing to Vash in his own way. It was a cycle that only brought unhappiness. 

Would such a cycle begin again? Could it ever be broken? Would it forever remain in pieces? 

“Now, uhh,” Vash began before drinking some water, “you didn't, did you…?”

Knives rolled his eyes, and his defensive demeanor returned. “No, I didn’t. I really wanted to kill him, but I gave you my word.”

Vash released a sigh of relief, and his smile broadened. He opened his mouth, but then frowned. “You’ve been using telepathy this whole time so people like that wouldn't notice me or do anything to me? A-and you’ve been hurting yourself by using it too often?”

Knives gave a sharp nod. “That’s why I snapped at that human—mostly. His behavior irritated me.”

Suddenly, Vash looked grim with closed eyes and before Knives could speak again, Vash grabbed one of his pillows and pressed it against his face. “I thought… You’re right. I’m an idiot. I saw people give me dirty looks—people I recognized from the ship, but I thought we were safe because nothing really ever happened. I thought they’d forgive me. I don’t know what I was thinking when moving here—thinking they’d give me another chance after everything… Maybe I should move on and ditch the girls…”

“Hmph, I’m assuming you’ll abandon me as well.”

Vash chuckled weakly. “Like you’d let me now.”

Knives couldn’t contain a smirk. He then frowned as an idea appeared—crazy enough to work if he gave himself the opportunity to reflect on it. “You should move in with the doctor for a while and visit this house when there are fewer humans wandering about. Until we develop a solution, you’ll avoid crowded places. The last thing I want is two annoyances nagging and lecturing me like I’m some adolescent about something I’ve done.”

“H-hey! I don’t nag!”

“Hmm.”

“At least not like Meryl.”

“You two cry just about as much. At least she has the decency to hide it.” Knives stood from the bed and rubbed his temples. “I’m going to lay down. I’m sure if you whine enough, one of the women will serve you. It’s nothing less than we deserve for being their superiors after all.” 

Vash pulled the pillow off his face. “Right. Would a _superior being_ get shot like this?”

“I’m honestly surprised,” Knives approached the door, “I sent the Guns after you, and you nearly perished by a meaningless bounty hunter...?” He furrowed his brows. “You didn’t purposely allow yourself to be vulnerable, did you?”

“Hey, no! I mess up too! Look at all these scars! Those kids were a handful, okay. Guess I’m too used to the _peaceful_ life.”

Knives shrugged before opening the door and when he reached his bedroom and locked it, he sprawled himself across the bed, crossing his arms behind his head, and stared at the ceiling. He contemplated the plan he began piecing together. It was a stretch, but it was possible. He knew for a fact his brother wouldn’t approve of it. 

What the fool didn’t know wouldn’t kill him. 

The rest of the week was uneventful but strange. Knives wasn’t home as often as he had been before the incident after the Christmas party, and the girls frequently found him at the Bernardelli building when most people left for the day. They attempted to interrogate him, but he refused to reveal any information. Vash was clueless as to what scheme Knives was planning, and when he was able to walk again a day after the incident, Knives revealed little or nothing at all—stating that he wasn’t planning anything malicious.

If a hundred years of life-threatening incidents hadn’t prevented the outlaw from enjoying life, then a bullet wound wasn’t going to either. It was midnight when the outlaw stormed from his room—wishing his brother would do the same since they had awakened at midnight for Christmas on the SEEDS ship—and he nearly tripped and fell over the red mats decorating the floor. When he reached his and Knives’ tree, he halted and noticed there were three additional presents placed under it compared to the night before. Almost everyone wrote their names to identify who offered the gift and who it was for, but the three new ones only had the names of to whom they were for. 

Oddly enough, one of the gifts was a neatly prepared envelope with perfect, slightly slanted handwriting. It was obvious who wrote it, and it was the first thing Vash opened. 

_To my dearest brother,_

_This is my gift to you, Vash._

_I did not murder that human, so I hope it is sufficient evidence to convince you that my verbal statements hold value comparable to my written ones._

_Do not search for me. I will return._

_I have written detailed instructions on how to utilize your telepathy, but knowing you, it is a useless addition to this gift. As I have suggested before, you should move into the ship until it is safe._

_You will know when._

_Yours truly, Knives._

Vash narrowed his eyes and immediately dropped the paper. He rushed to his brother’s room, his heart racing as seconds were wasted on ascending the stairs. He grabbed the knob and knew something was wrong when it was unlocked. The outlaw pushed the door to discover that Knives’ letter was true. His brother was gone. 

Weeks passed, and Vash eventually moved into the ship with Doc since wandering in the city was dangerous without his brother’s assistance. The girls had asked countless questions the outlaw himself couldn’t answer. Those weeks turned to months. Despite trusting him, Vash had a dubious thought of hearing about a city being blown or a town full of prosperous people suddenly disappearing. 

Nothing.

When five months passed, Vash had an idea as to Knives’ reasonings behind leaving him and the girls. While working with Doc one day in June, Vash received some of the best news he had ever heard from Meryl and Milly when they visited after work. Apparently, the bounty on his head was lifted due to the illogical reasoning behind convicting an individual when it was previously speculated a malfunctioning Plant was responsible for the destruction of July, and even Augusta was given the same treatment. The $$60,000,000,000.00 man was finally freed from the bounty after over twenty long years. The question on everyone’s mind was: how?

During one of the hottest days of the year, there had always been a steady flow of people entering New Oregon, but none quite like this. Dust was kicked and puffed in vanishing clouds of the earth as a man riding a toma approached the gate. Draping his left arm was a grandiose cloak that whipped the air as the toma ran after the man commanded it to. Once the beast slowed, the man wrapped the pale, brown cloak around his odd jumpsuit underneath as he rode in line with others waiting to be accepted inside. 

The individual wandered through town with grace and diligence while riding a toma. The beast groaned as they passed other toma, and it didn’t take long for the man to reach his destination. He dismounted and offered the toma a treat. He then fished for a set of keys that jingled in his grasp as he unlocked the door. When he opened it, he widened his eyes while running a hand through his blond locks in an attempt to rid his scalp of granules. 

The house hadn’t changed since Christmas. The decorations were still put on display despite some of them sagging or losing their color. The Christmas trees’ lights were off, and the trees were recently replaced with fresh-smelling pine that lingered throughout the living room. Even most of the gifts were left untouched, all except for one the man had left for his brother over half a year ago. 

Millions Knives ascended the stairs decorated in reflective streams and ribbons. Expecting his room to be different, he opened the door and was pleasantly relieved that it had been mostly neglected. It was cleaned, but everything was in place or near where he had set them. He hung his cloak that dragged onto the floor from the hook mounted on the door and began unzipping his SEEDS suit to savor the chill from a cold shower. He wrapped a towel around his lean waist and dried himself enough to wear the set of normal clothes he prepared before showering. 

There was one thing left to do while the women were at work. 

_‘Yo, Vash.’_

The Plant helped himself and prepared lunch while waiting for his brother to respond. He brought a perfectly prepared sandwich to his mouth.

_‘K-Knives!!!’_

He flinched and dropped his meal, the layers sprawled over the other half of his sandwich. He should’ve expected such a response, but he was too exhausted to consider his brother’s spontaneous bursts of energy. 

_‘Who else would it be?’_

_‘Where are you?! Gah--just hurt myself while working.’_

_‘Take your time,’_ Knives rolled his eyes while assembling his sandwich again. _‘I’m not going anywhere at the moment.’_

_‘I’ll be right over!’_

_‘I’m sure you will,’_ Knives severed the connection to enjoy the rest of his meal. 

It took the ex-outlaw three minutes to barge into the house to find his older brother finishing the last of his sandwich with a fork and knife. Knives stood from the chair and prepared some grand speech or remark when suddenly Vash rushed and latched onto him, squeezing what energy Knives had left. 

“Get off me, Vash!” Knives attempted to elbow his twin, but Vash managed to hook his arms around Knives’ and prevented him from separating them. 

“Nuh-uh! It’s been too loooong!”

“We were apart for over a century before!”

“So? We didn’t really get along then!”

Knives wasn’t used to responding to such intimate acts such as the one he was experiencing at this moment. Heaving a sigh, he hesitantly leaned forward to place his forehead on Vash’s shoulder and left his arms dangling at his side. Vash had always embraced him throughout the years, but Knives couldn’t remember ever returning the gesture. He didn’t complete the embrace, and even if he did, it wouldn’t have been anything extraordinary compared to what he had experienced and endured for the past half-year. It was unusual to be among humans constantly—a drastic change from living in a ship for decades. Knives hadn’t expected to be able to function while being among hundreds of humans. Even when arriving in New Oregon couldn't compare to the other populated cities. 

Knives did, however, push himself from Vash after a few minutes of allowing his brother to remain so close. Vash wiped the tears from his face and smiled broadly. 

“Was that you?”

“Hmm?”

“The bounty… What happened?”

Knives shrugged. “It took a while to find the humans responsible for placing it on you, but it had to be done.”

Vash gave him a skeptical expression. “Did you… Did you have to use telepathy on people?”

Knives slightly shook his head and entered an aloof state. He knew this was coming. “Yes.”

The disappointment washing over Knives from his brother nearly drove him insane, but the Plant calmed himself immediately. 

“Are you going to lecture me after everything I had done?”

Vash rubbed the back of his neck. “No… Just—can you tell me everything? What happened?”

Knives pushed past Vash to reach the couch. The twins sat in front of each other, one leaning back against the cushion of his chair while the other arched forward with his hands clasped under his chin. Knives raised his eyes to meet Vash before he began. 

“I recalled your files in Bernardelli and decided to track down the humans who placed the bounty on you after July. Utilizing telepathy, I managed to command these men into realizing the _idiocy_ in condemning one _man_ for causing these acts of God or whatever ridiculous names they invented. Anyway, that’s simply it. I found these humans throughout the planet, federation, other institutions.” He straightened his posture while crossing his arms.

“R-really? You… Why? W—” Bewildered, Knives continued to ease his overwhelmed twin. 

“Despite _the Stampede_ being absent from action, dozens of humans had been punished for pretending to be you. It was simple to find the files and _convince_ those to remove it. It wasn’t a complete lie. July was caused by Plants—one obviously defective.” 

Vash hung his head, eyes staring at nothing on the coffee table. “... That doesn’t erase what happened…”

“What else could I do, Vash? I can’t travel into the past despite being a being who lives outside of time. How could I be punished for crimes committed when the majority of this planet is clueless as to what happened? Would they even believe it?”

Vash raised his head, a look of determination greeted Knives. “I can only help you atone for it. We can help each other atone for our mistakes.” Vash stood and threw himself on the couch beside Knives, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, who stiffened at the contact for only a millisecond. “We can open gifts today! Meryl doesn’t have to complain about dusting them anymore!”

Knives slightly tilted his head. “The Christmas decorations.”

“We were waiting for you to get back, even if we had to wait until next year. Meryl has been complaining about it since forever. People do recognize me, but without the bounty and the fact that some people from the ship still care, nothing much happened. Milly and I have been debating with Meryl about this for some time.”

Knife scoffed, knowing that arguing with Stryfe was condemning oneself into a seemingly endless path of nagging and stubbornness comparable to his own. 

“Oh! I asked a friend to make this not long after you left.” Vash reached for a poorly wrapped box from under the tree. In a flash, he presented it to Knives. “Merry late Christmas.”

Knives examined the gift and carefully unwrapped the folds to preserve the paper for other purposes. He ignored the disappointed pouting from his brother for not ripping through the sheets and opened the lid of the box. He maintained a bored expression, but his face betrayed him since Vash noticed a slight curve at the corner of his lip. 

The craftsmanship of the piece was stunning—even by Knives’ standards. It was a black Long Colt and although it wasn’t the ones he had engineered over a century ago, it still displayed the care and craftsmanship of the human who had built it. Knives speculated it was custom made and Vash had given detailed instructions and measurements to create the perfect weapon for Knives’ hands. The barrel held smaller bullets than .45s, which he should’ve expected after receiving a gun from his brother.

How ironic to be the one given a gun this time. 

Vash did trust him… Trust could easily be broken.

The twins turned toward the door and saw Stryfe and Thompson enter. Knives narrowed his eyes. 

_‘I sent them a message that you were back,’_ Vash answered Knives’ silent question. 

_‘Of course you di—’_

“Mr. Knives!” Thompson shouted. 

Knives clenched his teeth since the high pitched squeal reminded him of his brother’s irritating whining. Before he could stand, Thompson rushed into him and trapped him in a crushing embrace. Slightly flushed, he attempted to seem unaffected by the affection. When his brother laughed, Knives stabbed the idiot’s soul with a piercing glare. 

“Well, it’s about time!” Meryl began, tapping her foot with hands on her hips. “Vash wouldn’t let us take these decorations down! Even when he moved out of here!”

Knives scoffed, knowing he would’ve demanded his twin to disassemble the decorations if he were in Stryfe’s position. 

“After today, we can start taking them down!” Vash approached the woman and planted a quick kiss on her lips, which surprised his older brother and caused Thompson to giggle.

“V-Vash!”

Knives grimaced. “I’ve missed quite a bit,” he muttered as his mind processed the image of his twin kissing a human, but… If Vash would’ve shown such affection toward a stranger, if he acted as a womanizer, Knives would’ve skinned his brother, but Stryfe had proved her worth long ago—before Knives was defeated, even. 

“Now we have all the time in the world to talk about it!” Vash clapped Knives’ back. “Let’s open some gifts.”

Knives sat on the lone cushioned chair while the girls sat together on the couch and his brother crossed his legs beside the tree, handing out presents as he unnecessarily announced each name and who the gifts were from. 

“Oh,” Vash said as he reached for presents perfectly wrapped underneath the women’s tree, “to Meryl and Milly, but I don’t know _who_ they’re from.” He winked at Knives. 

“Hmm,” Knives hummed as his lips pressed on the edge of a teacup Thompson had prepared for him earlier. 

Vash handed the women their gifts and he found his. Stryfe was the slowest to open hers and Thompson managed to become star-struck at the music box she hastily opened and began playing. Vash, with his tongue poking out while looking concentrated, paused in his efforts to unwrap his gift. 

“Oh my gosh, it’s so cute!” Thompson then poked the figurine of an intricately assembled apple tree spinning as the gears and other mechanisms of the music box continued to shift. “Thank you!”

The song _Sound Life_ continued chiming in a perfect rhythmic tune. Vash turned away and allowed tears to stain the wrapped gift. Knives appeared to be in deep thought until Thompson broke the spell and closed the box. 

“Hey!” Stryfe bellowed as she revealed the contents of the box. Within were a small marker and a ruler fit for a child’s hands. She glared at Knives, who shrugged. 

“I was hoping to see that you would’ve measured your growth by marking your door frame while I was away.” Knives leaned to his right to avoid the ruler that hit the armchair inches beside his head before it fell behind his back. “Do you understand now, dear brother? Humans are unappreciative—even if you have their best interest at _heart!”_

“‘... best interest at heart!’ You don’t even have one!”

Knives smirked at the sight of her trembling clenched fists. “A trait we both share, apparently..”

“... Why you—”

“Mr. Knives, that's awfully generous of you, but Meryl hasn’t grown an inch since I met her.”

“M-Milly!”

“My turn!” Vash shouted over Stryfe before she continued her retort. “The letter was enough, Knives. Well, and the whole bounty thing.”

“Wait, what?” Stryfe asked, jerking her head at the Plant. “Was that you?”

“Hon, I’ll tell you all about it later,” Vash said as he lifted the lid from his box. He paused, shoulders slumped. “It’s just a string.”

“Pull it,” Knives simply said.

Vash narrowed his eyes, skeptical of his brother. He did as instructed and yanked on the string like the black cat that recently lived around their house. He widened his eyes at the flap of cardboard that lifted from the floor of the box. Underneath was a sandsteamer ticket. He grabbed it and examined the glistening paper that lacked a destination. 

“The ticket to the future is…”

“It was supposed to be another hint to what I had planned,” Knives mentioned, “but I hadn’t expected you to wait until now to open it.”

“Oh…” Vash flipped it over and frowned. “Hey! That’s not nice!” He mocked the hurt tone of his voice. He then pouted but chuckled at the word “moron” written in Knives’ handwriting on the back.

“No matter what your future may hold, dearest brother, you’ll always be a moron.”

They spent hours talking long after Knives unwrapped his gifts. Thompson had made a ceramic cup with painted grape vines; Stryfe had helped design a holster after Vash had mentioned purchasing a gun; Vash bought him a subscription at the local library recently opened, along with the gun. Of course, Vash was worried Knives would’ve rejected the idea of entering one of Gunsmoke’s most tranquil places full of people, but to their surprise, Knives accepted the gift and preferred hardcovers over digital.

While the others continued to enjoy each other’s company, Knives went up to his room. Locking the door behind him, he set his gifts on the bed beside him and held his new gun again. As much as he appreciated it—he’d never admit it—it couldn’t compare to what he had lost, then found again. 

Knives reached into his saddlebag and reflecting the sunlight was the black .45 caliber Long Colt. Although the red duster wasn’t present, the Cross Punisher and the weapons were buried where they had fought years ago. Of course, Knives memorized the location; he had created a geo-plant there while waiting for his brother after all. 

He designed the weapons to channel his and Vash’s abilities to destroy infrastructures to exacerbate humans’ suffering, and when he discovered that the vermin had died after the events that took his legs, he was complacent about his efforts despite the consequences toward himself. He had planned to make Vash suffer, and he had been successful. Now… That pain in his chest returned again. 

Knives raised the weapon with his left hand, hiding half of his face behind the inverted barrel. It was funny. So much had changed. He had once felt confident gripping the weapon and was beyond ecstatic when he held it over a century later. Now… it felt heavier than ever before. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said, I know it’s a bit early for this chapter, but I basically wanted to post something since I’m skipping the Thanksgiving chapter until next November. Also, this is to celebrate my cancer treatment and that chemotherapy is fortunately working well enough even before radiation. I believe that I am almost done with the first sessions of my treatment, so we’ll see how that goes. 
> 
> The future of this story is mostly planned, but as you can tell each chapter is a bit different when it comes to how it’s presented. I like to experiment with certain techniques and such, so there may be some inconsistencies at times. Hope that isn’t too bothersome. 
> 
> I’m very thankful for those who’ve helped me, and this chapter is to show it even if most of those people won’t read it.
> 
> Don’t forget to Kudos and comment! I’d really appreciate them! <3


	3. Spoken Forgiveness: Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The year is coming to a close, but even though the year is ending, it doesn't mean life is gonna give these people a break. 
> 
> This chapter heavily relies on details from episode 6 of Trigun and the previous two chapters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my friends for helping me with the chapter!

Knives had visited his sisters before during the early stages of installing the new Plant into the crashed ship, but for the most part, he kept his distance from the vessel. He was used to being among humans ever since leaving for half a year, but, as he had already explained to Vash, he couldn’t help but ridicule them whenever they surrounded their sisters frequently.

Knives couldn't simply command the Plant engineers to vacate the premises whenever he desired to communicate with his sisters on the ship; he had promised Vash he’d avoid using telepathy unless it was for emergencies. Now, Knives didn’t have to always utilize his telepathy to protect himself, the women, and his brother. Still, Vash was a magnet for trouble… Bounty or not. 

Humans were often vengeful things. Despite the bounty being lifted from Vash, they still hunted him. Some claimed he was still liable for July, Augusta, and was a monster for the crater in the moon. Others simply wanted a challenge to hunt the freed Humanoid Typhoon. 

How irritating. 

Knives dug his hands into the pockets of his long peacoat, then he eyed the black gun holstered at his side whenever a human stared at him and his brother.

“Knives,” Vash spoke while placing a hand on the stiff Plant’s shoulder, “I’m positive no one will be around them today!”

Knives sighed as he crossed his arms. “Do I have to remind you about the one _human_ that interfered and reacted with fear when he witnessed her emerge from the core? How can you be so certain _this_ time?”

Vash dropped his hand, sighing. “Many don’t know about Plants inside the bulbs. None of the engineers from the _KTIU_ even know. People will be scared of something they just don’t under—”

“Yes, Vash,” Knives said coldly. “We read their history. We read how they respond to the unknown. We _read_ how they treated the unknown. If they knew what we are, they’d kill us. If they knew that Plants are sentient beings… they’d panic. As I’ve stated before, the moment they taste the fear of knowing there’s a superior breed, something seems to take control of them every time.”

Knives would never reveal that he had imprisoned scientists in his ships to his brother, and his experiences with _engineers_ and Plant _scientists_ witnessing his sisters emerge from the bulbs were all comparable. They feared the very beings they desperately sought knowledge and power to _preserve_ —to dominate and abuse.

Vash smiled. “Maybe one day we can teach them to understand.” He stepped in front of his brother and looked into his eyes. “Knives, out of everyone on this planet, we’re the most qualified to do something… I’m sorry that I haven’t really been helping them, but you know that I’m just...” Vash pursed his lips and looked determined. _‘We’re Plants, but that doesn’t mean we’re superior. We’re different, but different doesn’t have to be negative or positive, right?’_

Knives scowled. _‘We’re the most qualified? Vash, for the majority of our lives, we haven’t truly protected our kind. You saved a few, but for what? For humans? I’ve murdered many…’_ He frowned before meeting Vash’s eyes again. _‘I haven’t truly assisted them either… I’ve used them. I’ve used them…’_ Knives recalled how he had treated his brother and such acts of cruelty were comparable to those done by humans, which caused an overwhelming ache to strike his heart. He didn’t want to behave similarly to a human any longer. _‘Vash, I was obsessed with convincing you to join me for years, and I neglected them.’_

Vash widened his eyes, obviously bewildered by Knives’ response. He then beamed before his smile grew. “There’s a lot we can do. In fact, I have someone you’ll wanna meet later today.” He clapped Knives’ back before approaching the security door. “She and I have a history, and if what she has planned works, it’ll help all of us!”

Knives raised a skeptical brow. After a century, humans _now_ sought to do something about their sisters’ predicament—an environment he had forced upon humanity as a child, a place where his kind was powerless to defend themselves. Back then, Knives had only cared for building an Eden for himself and Vash and had intended to use his sisters to terraform the planet. Humans wouldn’t ever harm them. 

They’d be safe if it was just them…

They only had each other, after all. 

Vash neared the intercom and asked the doctor for permission to enter. Knives followed him into the platform that ascended to the upper regions of the ship, where they could avoid the people who had taken up residence once again after power had been restored. Although the damaged Plant had been replaced, without a fourth one, the ship still could not fly. 

“You’ll see. She’s, uh.” Vash’s cheeks flushed, and Knives briefly wondered why. “Something else. She’s a Plant engineer—”

Knives groaned, rubbing his temples at the thought of greeting one of _those_ again.

“I know how you feel about them. You haven’t met her yet, but I’ve mentioned her before. She’s been helping me with the Plants—her and the team.”

“And why would _I_ want to meet this woman?” Knives crossed his arms again as he watched the metallic walls pass while the platform continued to rise. “All I want is to greet our sister and return home. Why must I subject myself to meeting their kind?” 

“Cranky, huh?” Vash rubbed the back of his head and said, “She’s trying to make a difference now. Uh, you’ll see. Please hear her out, for meeee?” he whined.

Knives really, really despised when Vash used that line, because in reality—although he’d never admit it—Knives would possibly do almost anything for his brother, and had thought he knew what Vash needed in life for so long.

The platform finally reached the top floor where one of the Plants was housed, and Knives was the first to step into the hallway with numerous unoccupied corridors and rooms. Vash caught up with him and tried to kindle a conversation about the resemblance between the ship and the one they were raised in, but Knives was focused on sensing the Plants. He kept his eyes closed as they neared the room with the newest sister. The ship itself powered everything throughout the city, and with the new Plant, other technologies could be utilized to improve the lives of humans.

What of the Plants? Knives was allowing them to be drained while casually living among humans. It disgusted him. He thought about using the Angel Arm momentarily, but when Vash began humming and Knives glanced at him, he reconsidered it. 

Millions Knives living among humans _peacefully._ At times, now more than ever, the very thought still sickened him to a degree. Now that he began concentrating on the lives of the Plants, his old urges to exterminate them would often surface. 

It didn’t take long for them to reach the main entrance, where the doctor stood beside the enormous sliding door. Knives kept his face of indifference while Vash looked about as idiotically as ever while greeting the human. 

“Vash, it’s good to see you as always.” The doctor slightly lowered his hat over his eyes, tilting his head. “Good afternoon, Knives.”

Knives remained silent but gave a sharp nod. Even though things seemed civil between them, especially after Vash had vouched for Knives and he was allowed to enter the ship, Knives knew the human held a grudge against him for a multitude of offenses. Vash once mentioned a human named… Brad had saved his life when one of the Gung-Ho Guns had followed Legato’s orders and nearly took Vash’s life. Another human was affected named Jessica, but Knives really didn’t care how the humans from the ship were affected.

“Elizabeth left for a while to pick up some papers, so I asked her to meet us in your headquarters.” The doctor gestured for the twins to enter, and Knives took the lead while Vash followed. 

The room was empty with the exception of the railing and elevated platform with the bulb looming overhead. Knives ignored the rambling from his brother and the human to climb the stairs in order to reach the bulb. He kept his hands at his side as he purposely strode to the curve of the glass, then he sought for any signs that warned him if other humans were present. When his brother and the doctor neared, he approached the control panels connected to his sister and analyzed the data. He scowled and began typing into the machine. 

“Someone altered the data I coded in during my last visit,” he stated with a deep pitch to his tone. “The output levels have been unnecessarily increased.”

Of course, a human had worsened the living conditions of his sister.

“Oh, sorry,” Vash spoke, running his neck sheepishly. Of course. “Elizabeth and I were testing some new combinations, and we had to give her a day or so to see the results.”

Knives responded by narrowing his penetrating eyes. 

“I, uh, also used some of your suggestions and tested them out my way, and I think I’m close to a new breakthrough!” Vash extended his hand before clenching it into a fist in front of his face, no doubt an exaggerated act fueled by his _determination._

“Why are you altering my work? My knowledge is vast compared to the common incompetent engineer or lousy scientist. Honestly, I’m insulted.”

Vash lowered his arm, pouting. “Well, we gotta try other methods that could be even better than yours, maybe. The Plant’s a healthy one from an abandoned ship near May City, and I asked her if it was alright to do these things.”

“You’re assuming I simply have been sulking around or secluded myself without accomplishing anything. I know what I’m doing.” Knives rolled his eyes. He watched the data scroll by and felt the heat from the panel radiate onto his fingers as he continued to type. “Return her to these conditions then if you’re unsuccessful,” he said calmly, but there was a hint of authority to his tone, one that Vash nodded in response to. 

“I secured the room so no one should enter during your visit,” the doctor said as he remained near the stairs. 

Vash smiled at the short human before approaching the bulb to palm the glass in greeting. He then placed both hands on the glass and closed his eyes. His smile broadened almost immediately, keeping himself perfectly still while the warmth inched from his fingers and ascended his arm. 

Knives glanced at his brother and noticed the tranquil expression on his face. He had already realized that Vash had always acted similarly to a Plant in his own way, and seeing him continue to embrace his true nature made Knives feel relieved. However, Vash still denied their superiority. 

Then Knives recalled his attempt at _convincing_ Vash of his gifts in July, and he found himself staring absently at the data. 

In reality, the last thing Knives wanted was to hurt Vash. Now, even he knew that such a statement would probably aggravate his brother and his pet, but it was the truth. Knives had tried to settle things his way, but on multiple occasions, Vash had resisted or attacked him. Vash had tackled him during the spider incident in the recreation room, then in the escape pod, and after, in the desert, then when Knives created the weapons. He had abused Vash, but he had convinced himself that such acts were justified.

Then Knives was shot and abandoned. It was the first and last time he remembered sobbing. Not even Steve had broken him and witnessed such a scene. 

“Knives?” 

Knives grasped the edges of the machine, knuckles whitening under the strain before he forced himself to stand tall.

Vash quietly approached him. “If changing the numbers really bothers you, I’ll try not to add a—”

“No,” Knives answered bluntly. “Forget it.”

Vash frowned. Knives avoided his eyes, but once they turned to face each other, the older twin’s eyes seemed vacant and absent to the world. Vash had said it was normal for them to experience guilt from their mistakes, but Knives had always believed he had been right and had a goal to achieve Eden. 

Now what? 

“Vash,” the doctor interrupted, causing Knives to meet the human’s eyes, “I have a surprise, an early Christmas gift to give you! Now I know it’s still weeks away, but I couldn't wait. Follow me and we can give Knives his privacy.”

“Oh boy, really?!” Vash clasped his hands together and nearly squealed with glee at the drop of a hat, but when the doctor looked away, Knives saw that Vash glanced his way and seemed concerned. 

Knives grinned, which surprised his brother. _‘No matter what, no humans could ever surpass my gift last year. Not even your pet with her gifts.’_

 _‘Pet. No, she isn’t a pet.’_ Vash scoffed before stepping closer to Knives and poking him at his side. _‘No, what you did I don’t think can ever be matched, but it’s the thought that counts! Meryl might not have wandered the world for months to solve the bounty problem, as you did for me, but she can make some nice clothes.’_

Knives grunted, but couldn't really refute that statement since he wore a blue shirt underneath his coat she designed. 

_‘Her height puts her at an advantage when it comes to practice since she likely measured herself often.’_

_‘Gah, always with short jokes. You’re worse than me! Well, I wouldn’t want her any other way…. When we cuddle and—’_

“Leave,” Knives warned, his face contorted with disgust.

Although he wasn’t going to force Vash to abandon his pet or prevent him from creating a _connection_ with her, Knives still couldn’t fathom the fact that his brother had mated with her. _Innocent_ acts of affection were bearable, but bestiality was beyond even the likes of him. 

Vash shrugged. “Okay, Doc. What kind of surprise do you have in mind?” He followed the doctor down the stairs, and eventually, their voices dissipated and the room was nearly still, except for the humming lost technology surrounding the bulb. 

Knives ran a hand through his cropped hair, straightened his posture, and adjusted the coat so the buttons aligned themselves evenly. Once confident in his appearance, he neared the panel once again to input certain lines of data, ensuring himself that the doctor had locked the room, then he neared the bulb. Before he touched the glass, the heat washed over him in pulsing waves; she knew he was present and was… warning him. He took a step back and questioned why she was distraught. 

Was this another sister that wouldn’t forgive him?

No. She sensed what he brought with him. She knew of the very weapon that was the twin to the silver Long Colt. She knew what Knives had done to their little brother and to the Plants that perished in July.

Vash believed the gun Knives carried was the one he had given Knives after he returned, but Knives had modified his black Angel Arm Long Colt with parts from the ordinary gun in order to conceal its existence. Vash wouldn’t ever approve of it, but the fool had never learned how to sense the cylinders in the Long Colts. 

Knives raised the weapon to the Plant, promising that he wouldn’t activate his Angel Arm. To further prove this, he set it down on the panel a few feet away before returning to her. Now, she was compliant to communicate with him despite what he had done in the past. Knives placed his palms on the curve of the glass, leaned his forehead against it, and relaxed his heartbeat as the profound connection began forming between them. Then, the energy from the gates in his arms flowed with her power.

The humming from the bulb echoed throughout the room, but Knives couldn’t hear for he was beyond where mortals roamed, where humanity dominated, where he could possibly evade the sensations of his adverse emotions to bask in his sister’s presence. 

He had worked to change dependent Plants before, and although he hadn’t tried altering their genetic makeup in a while, he hadn’t given up. No, he had to remain in a bulb for twenty years and become fixated on revenge rather than becoming an advocate for Plants. He had been sacrificing Plants for his whole life, and Vash had also dismissed them mostly because he was under the delusion that the relationship between the two species would improve gradually and because of fear. 

Fear. Knives knew the emotion well even though many never witnessed him cower. Stryfe may have often taunted him for fearing humans—even if he had grown accustomed to being around so many—they still made him feel apprehensive. Considering his brother’s nature and simply because humans continued to pursue him, Knives had every right to be after Vash had been shot the previous Christmas. 

Now, Knives didn’t feel much guilt for his actions when it came to humans. They were seen as logical justifications, because despite how much his brother prized them—especially the women of the house—their kind was an invasive, dominating, inconsiderate species that would eventually harvest what little was available on Gunsmoke. They had done so with Earth, neighboring planets, and would surely do so again and again. 

But did he have to sever his brother’s arm and force him to end so many lives to prove the point? Could his twin forfeit such damaging, sentimental ideals with near-impossible expectations for the sake of self-preservation? Knives detested Rem for the damage she had caused, for turning Vash against him, for preaching that Knives’ views on the world were wrong while never voicing an alternative solution or perhaps a compromise. Vash had—what was that noise?

Knives’ unconsciously frowned as he began to distance himself from the connection to his sister. An odd wailing noise gradually intensified the closer he came to his senses. At first, he assumed it was his brother whimpering again over something trivial, but the voice was foreign. Once he opened his eyes, he felt his lips quirk into a smirk at the sight of his sister, but he then scowled at the sound of crying. 

The Plant had emerged from the bulb during their connection, which was what usually occurred while communicating with one. As far as Knives was aware, he and Vash were the only ones who could summon their kind from the cores of the bulbs. It was a private, sacred event. That was why Knives had been so adamant about having humans be absent during his visits; his sister was likely to emerge and such a sight had disturbed humans before. They cowered in fear. They turned aggressive.

Knives snarled, yanking his hands from the bulb as his sister’s angelic form cast shadows on his person along with the… weeping human. 

How a human managed to enter the room, Knives was unsure, but now a woman stood beside him, tears streaming from her eyes she attempted to hide by blocking her face with an arm. He was prepared to question the annoyance before his sister mentally nudged him. He turned away from the human to behold his sister’s yellow eyes soften and a smile greeted him. She sent messages and images of the human and Vash conversing near the bulb. 

So, this human was the one his brother had spoken of. Likely, she had never witnessed what truly resided in a bulb. Surely she’d cower, surely she’d… sob? 

Something usually always controlled the humans whenever they witnessed a superior being, but Knives hadn’t ever seen sorrow. Why? Fear, maybe? Overwhelmed—possibly. Not once had previous engineers or the like cried. Amazed, usually, but sobbing? Obviously, tears originated from fear, or perhaps the human was one of those obsessive Plant worshipers that prayed to the bulbs rather than the being within.

The woman staggered back and nearly fell before catching herself on the railing a short distance from Knives. Now, he was curious. The human’s frantic face between parted fingers faced the bulb, and her eyes glistened as tears continued to travel to her neck, then they disappeared underneath her professional attire, which was a tight fitting dress that would’ve rivaled the costume Thompson wore for their first Halloween. Knives narrowed his eyes at the abandoned stack of textbooks and scattered papers near the stairs. 

Knives recalled the times Vash had dealt with Stryfe when she wept, then he himself had to often deal with Thompson’s weeping, and she reminded him of Vash, crying over seemingly nothing. Knives usually sat there and listened to whatever babble the women had to say, which he supposed was enough since, as far as he knew, human women enjoyed talking. Then again, his brother was similar. Even he himself enjoyed a good conversation with a Plant. Now, what to do about this human since his brother wanted him to become acquainted with her anyway?

“Hm… W—” He pursed his lips at his hesitancy. “I’m curious, you’re reacting this way because of her, and I’m assuming you’re overwhelmed by the sight of something superior to you.” His brother usually asked his pet what was wrong, but that would do.

When she further leaned against the railing while facing the bulb, Knives debated with himself to search her mind for answers, but he groaned knowing his brother’s reaction if he discovered his intrusion. Instead, when the woman seemed lost, Knives ignored her and faced his sister, who he bid farewell to and watched her return to the core of the bulb, her waving limbs and feathers following her form. He then turned back to the woman and saw her crumble to the floor with her hands holding her head. 

What his brother didn’t know wouldn’t harm him, so Knives remained connected to his sister and instructed her to reach him if the human did anything that would endanger her. 

_‘Vash,’_ Knives sent as he followed where he felt his brother’s presence, _‘a human entered the room.’_

_‘Huh? Really? Tha— Aaah!’_

Knives halted before he immediately ran through the vacant hallways. He found himself rushing through a newly populated section of the ship, and humans weren’t able to follow his movements. 

_‘I’m okay… Uh, it always hurts.’_

The Plant’s feet skidded across the smooth surface, scaring a mother and her child that stood nearby and were unable to follow his speed. 

Knives inhaled deeply and demanded, _‘What happened?!’_

_‘Thank you for being concerned with little ol’ me.’_

Knives reached the room Vash was in and pressed a few buttons to open the door. _‘Answer the question.’_

_‘Just a few modifications. I’m okay—just hurts because of the arm being attached to my nerves and all.’_

Knives stepped into the room, and what he analyzed unconsciously changed his demeanor. His shoulders slumped, maintaining perfect posture was forgotten, and a light crease appeared between his brows. Before him was his brother lying flat on the table without his prosthetic, and the doctor, who held onto a device Knives was familiar with, had begun the process of detaching the metal device that encased Vash’s stump.

Vash waved, grinning like an idiot. “Uh, I’m sorry someone entered the room. Who was it?”

“Hmph,” Knives crossed his arms, “a woman our sister said was Elizabeth. She’s the human I was supposed to meet.” 

“Oh! You met her… Wait…” Vash widened his eyes and abruptly sat up. “Did she…”

“Yes. She saw our sister.”

“Oh crap.” Vash groaned, rubbing his eyes with his organic hand. “I was going to show her when I prepared her enough, but I didn’t think she could get in!”

“I’m sorry, Vash,” the doctor said as he set his instrument down, “I had forgotten that I gave her the ability to access the Plants’ rooms even if I secured them.”

Vash seemed distraught as he grasped onto his bare stump. “H-how did she react to seeing her?”

Knives shrugged. “She was weeping like an adolescent. Reminded me of you, actually. I assume she’s probably overwhelmed and fearful.”

Vash lowered his eyes. “I don’t know about that… Maybe you’re right, but maybe…”

Knives approached the bed and accidentally loomed over his brother—force of habit. “You know something.”

“Well, yeah. I know her more than you do. Eh, don’t worry, I’ll talk to you about it later. I really don’t think she’d say anything about the Plants.”

Knives watched his brother rub his stump then narrowed his eyes as he remembered the rush his body experienced when he had severed the arm. He had enjoyed it. His revenge... Vash had shot his leg decades before. He wanted Vash to suffer after being abandoned twice and left to die—again!

 _‘It would take time, as I’ve mentioned before,’_ Knives began. _‘Far longer than I know you’d be comfortable with, but regardless, you could regenerate your arm.’_

Vash closed his eyes before glancing down at his new prosthetic in a briefcase. He shook his head. _‘It took you decades to grow your legs back… I can’t afford to waste time.’_

_‘It’s not a waste if it involves your well-being.’_

_‘I’ve lived without it for decades and I’ll probably continue to do so… I can’t waste what time I have with...’_

Knives’ eyes briefly widened in realization before he returned to an aloof expression. _‘Stryfe.’_

Vash nodded, sighing as he met Knives’ eyes. _‘I’m finally, finally giving myself the chance to enjoy being with someone again. It’s scary to think about losing her while I’ll still be the same, but I can’t keep running. I wanna be happy, Knives. I want love and peace, and now with you being here and without being a wanted man, I feel like I can give myself the chance to live and learn from my mistakes. You understand me, don’t you?’_ His look was pleading. Knives was one of the only ones who could understand him, after all. 

Knives suddenly appeared exhausted, eyes wrinkled and empty as he stared at Vash’s stump. _‘A purpose? You believe having Stryfe in your life will lead you to happiness?’_ He suppressed a scowl at the thought of a _human_ being more significant to his brother than him. 

_‘Not just her. You, Milly, the Doc, and people I know around town and throughout the planet. With what Elizabeth has planned, I think we’ll all have a brighter future.’_

Knives scoffed. “Perhaps if you and that woman spent time on actually achieving something rather than sobbing, we’d be living in an Eden by now.”

“Pffft, I don’t cry _that_ often!” Vash raised a loose fist to his eye in an attempt to mock Knives by producing artificial tears. 

Knives quirked a brow. “Hmm, and you’re not my moronic brother.”

Vash then brought his hand to his heart, and said, “I’m not _that_ stupid either.” He pouted with slumped shoulders. “Maybe a bit…” He then chuckled before turning to the doctor. “I’m okay. You can continue, Doc.”

Knives shook his head before turning to leave. 

Vash swiftly stood, and even though the doctor didn’t react, the sudden depression of his brows hinted at his irritation. “W-wait! You haven’t met Elizabeth yet!”

Knives glanced over his shoulder. “I have and the woman wept.”

“No! I mean _really_ meet her. You’d like her, trust me!”

Knives grimaced at Vash’s possible implication. He prepared a retort about not stooping so low as to engage in bestiality, but he kept his mouth shut. He gestured with his hands that he was dismissing himself before walking away. 

“Okay, but I’ll bring her over later… This is important. Is she still crying? Did you just leave her?”

Knives grunted before leaving the room and traveling through the ship and toward a different exit. He continued to monitor the woman through his sister, and when she informed him that his brother greeted her, he trusted Vash to ensure their sister’s safety.

On the way home, Knives entered a market where humans thrived and sold various assorted goods. The caravan visited the city alongside the towering sandsteamer, and Knives knew most of the bounty hunters wouldn’t bother with his brother since pursuing him was a fruitless endeavor. Even so, he remained attentive as he returned home with a paper bag. He dug for the keys in his pocket and entered the home decorated in a more organized fashion since he and Stryfe had planned the house’s appearance for Christmas; they even took control of how to decorate their trees, which was fine with Vash and Thompson. 

“Oh, welcome back, Mr. Knives.”

Knives locked the door behind him before facing the living room. Thompson waved with a miniature screwdriver in hand. He sighed as he examined the project she toyed with, which was the music box she accidentally dropped and wept over earlier that day, and she had annoyed him to help her fix it. He searched through his bag and set parts on the table to replace the damaged ones. 

“Mr. Knives,” Milly began as she continued to unscrew a piece from the music box, “was it this way or that way? I’m trying to remember what you said.”

Knives gave a critical eye and shook his head. “No, the base and lever absorbed most of the impact, but the cylinder had been severely scratched, which would require me to make another. Until I make it, just leave it alone.”

“Aww, okay. I was going to see if I could assemble it myself.”

“Hmm, whatever. Might as well toy with it since it’s useless without a flawless cylinder. If you break anything else...” 

“Nope, I won’t.”

Knives raised the old cylinder and, even though he had memorized the patterns, he wanted to be certain. Nodding once, he set it back down and took the new cylinder. 

“Oh, would you like to play chess in a bit?”

“Later.”

“Okie—oh, what did you get? Is it alcohol for Christmas and the small New Year’s party?” She leaned forward to peer into the bag, which Knives swiftly grabbed, preventing her from uncovering his secrets. “I hope there’s pudding too.”

“No.” 

“Oh, okay. Secrets…” She raised a finger to her lips. 

“Which means not to tell Vash what I’m doing.”

“I won’t, but he might go looking for you.”

“And he spent years trying to find me before.”

Knives turned away to reach the door that led to his flourishing garden, where various fruits and vegetables grew—ones that would’ve been difficult to nurture, such as grapes and even an avocado tree on the opposite side of the apple tree. He had done the majority of the work, but he had some assistance from a particular homeless resident that frequently visited the backyard since his garden tended to attract certain vermin other than humans. 

He had always favored most animals since his kind, along with the other inhabitants on the planet, have also been abused by Homo sapiens for generations. 

Knives looked around, then glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone—Thompson in particular—noticed him before he stepped into the side of the house and entered a narrow space. Again, he glanced around, setting his bag down before reaching between a bundle of his gardening equipment to retrieve two bowls. He set them against the wall of the house, then reached into his bag for a can of salmon spread, which wasn’t actual fish since most substances were created by Plants. 

Knives opened the can and the satisfying sounds of the metal peeling away were appreciated by a visitor. Knives smirked at the sound of a gentle cry behind him before he felt something brush against his calf. He knelt down and tapped the can into the bowl. To retrieve the rest stuck inside, he bent the lid and scooped the remnants out. 

Knives knew it wasn’t beneficial to feed his vermin exterminator, but the black cat had earned something more appropriate for her pallet than desert rodents. She continued to purr while biting into the chunks of spread. 

Relaxation was something to savor as he sat against the wall and tentatively watched the cat scarf down food. Her wide, green eyes were piercing as she turned away for a moment, meowed at him, then returned to eating. Knives began brushing his fingers through the fur on her back. 

His brother had a pet now… Should he name the cat Stryfe? A malicious grin broadened at the thought of annoying the easily agitated woman. 

Hours passed and Knives found himself in a state of actual happiness while being near his garden and the cat. If it weren’t for Vash, he probably would’ve remained in a meditative state for the remainder of the day. His brother attempted to reach him through telepathy, but Knives brushed him away to further enjoy peace. Vash was damn persistent as he continued to reach him, and as the cat curled in Knives’ lap, the Plant firmly decided that he wouldn’t move. He didn’t want to meet the engineer. He had hidden from his brother for decades, and he’d mask his presence again if nec—

“Knives? Why are you ignoring me?” Vash’s voice surfaced a groan from the older twin as the blond spikes appeared from around the corner. “Elizabeth’s here, and don’t worry, I talked to her and sorted things out. She’s… well, still a bit… sad after seeing the Plant.”

Vash stopped with widened eyes at the sight before him. Knives followed his brother’s gaze and noticed that he hadn’t stopped petting the cat. He pulled his hand away and tightened it into a fist. 

“No.”

“Well, I can’t force you, buuuuut,” Vash clasped his hands together over his face and exaggerated his blinking motions, “if you do it for me—”

“If you’re attempting to take advantage of me in regards to do what pleases you—”

“No, no! Okay, can I explain everything to you? I don’t think you know what we’ve been through and she’s trying to fix her past mistakes.”

Knives sighed, pondered on it for a moment, then gave a sharp nod before returning to stroke the cat on his lap. Vash took a seat beside Knives against the wall and vigilantly reached for the cat, which promptly began hissing. 

“Are you gonna keep her? She has your attitude.”

Knives stared at the cat while in thought. “Explain why this human is significant to you. Isn’t one enough?”

“Gah, yes! I’m not into her—eh, not anymore.” Vash twiddled his thumbs before suddenly looking solemn. “Well, where do I begin… Hm, years ago in Inepril, I defeated this family, the Nebraska family, and gave away the bounty to the city so they could fix their Plant.”

“Why am I not surprised? Legato hadn’t found you yet to inform me of your shenanigans.”

Vash’s smile dropped and he looked away, a thick silence remained for some time before he spoke again, and Knives realized who he had mentioned. 

“Vash—” 

“Anyway, Elizabeth was the chief engineer and still is until she starts her organization. Well,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “she tried to blow up the Plant to kill me because she… she wanted revenge for ruining her life because she lived in July.”

Knives frowned before returning to his neutral expression. He then snarled, wishing he would’ve done more than simply leave the woman to cry near his sister. How dare she!

“I stopped the Plant from blowing up. I hadn’t regained my memories then, so even I wasn’t sure what happened to July. She still wanted revenge, but… It’s crazy, really.” He watched the steady breathing of the cat before meeting Knives’ eyes. The older twin felt his face relax, but the rage that burned didn’t subside. “Right after July, I was wandering the ruins of the city, and I couldn’t remember anything. I left you for dead. I’m sorry.” 

The memories were decades old, but Knives still felt uneasy about them. The feel—or lack of—his legs being blasted off by his brother, the rubble crushing him, suffocating him, and if it were not for the energy singing his stumps to a crisp, he would’ve bled to death. He recalled attempting to reach Vash telepathically, but his twin wasn’t there—not mentally, but he assumed Vash had ignored him and left him for dead. 

It was traumatic, for both of them. 

The rage Knives had allowed to consume him threatened to present itself now, but he disciplined himself. Vash hadn’t done anything against him for some time. Knives wasn’t helpless in July. He wasn’t in a bulb. He wasn’t riddled with bullets. 

“I didn’t know about your memory loss for some time, Vash,” Knives said, his voice carried a hint of venom. “When I discovered that you had forgotten, it was too late since my grudge and obsession for revenge had developed and festered for years.”

“You’re acting like you couldn’t stop,” Vash spoke softly. 

Knives furrowed his brows. “You’re acting like you couldn’t stop resorting to violence when we were younger.”

“What does that—” Vash opened his mouth, paused, then suddenly ran a hand through his hair. “That was wrong too. We’ve both been wrong in our own ways.” He closed his eyes and opened them a moment later. 

Knives pulled his hand away from the cat once he felt his fists pull her fur. 

“Back then, among the rubble, I saved a stranded little girl…” Vash finally spoke. “We traveled for a while before an orphanage took her in. Years later, Elizabeth recognized me from back then. She told me that she worked hard to understand Plants, believing that either I used some sort of magic or that the Plants were involved in destroying July.”

Knives grunted before petting the cat’s back again. “How did you explain the fact that your appearance hasn’t altered much since then? That’s to assume she hasn’t noticed that you haven’t aged since she was a child.”

“Ah, yeah. She has... Uh, the Doc helped me out with this one, since he explained that I’ve known him for some time. Basically, you and I have an extremely rare radiation mutation from Plants.” Knives gave him an expression of disbelief that clearly mocked his brother's mental capacity. “Since she knew I can stop a Plant from exploding and that I’ve known Doc for a while, it wasn’t hard to convince her. That’s why we’re so young at heart!” He lightly elbowed Knives in jest. 

“Why didn’t you just state you were often placed into cold sleep pods to maintain your youthful appearance?”

“Uh, that would be lying.”

“And mentioning we have a _mutation_ is the truth?”

“... It’s not a complete lie… We are radioactive…”

Knives rolled his eyes. “Does she believe in the _new_ news that a Plant malfunctioning had been the cause of July and not one _human?”_

Vash shrugged. “She asked if I had something to do with it still since she knows I can work with Plants. I told her a… a kind of truthful reason. I basically told her I tried to stop a Plant from destroying everything in July at the time, but I failed…”

“Hmph, that’s technically not a lie.”

“Even though you—I pulled the trigger and aimed it at you. I could’ve aimed it at the sky or anywhere else, but I wanted you dead… I was going to go against Rem, and her memory kept me sane for my whole life.” Vash tried to reach for the cat one more time, and as Knives pet her back, Vash felt her head and smiled when she didn’t hiss. “Since I couldn’t recollect anything besides my earliest memories with Rem and you after July happened, I clung to her more than ever.” He dropped his hand from the cat. “I ignored Rem when I shot you in July.”

“Those sentimental values she brainwashed you with have nearly gotten you killed on numerous occasions, Vash. You feared being a Plant. You feared creating connections with humans. You ran from everything out of fear. Your scars are proof enough. You could’ve become an engineer and done something about Plants for the _humans_ , yet you didn’t.”

Vash snapped his head at his brother, his eyes eerily resembling Knives’. “You made me fear myself all those years ago with those guns!” Vash grimaced as he clenched his fist above the cat’s head. “I wanted you dead, but if it wasn’t for Rem… I also didn’t ask for a bounty on my head, either.”

“I didn’t want a bullet in my thigh either! You had decades before July to achieve something for your precious vermin, but I suppose you achieved something by becoming a cowardly wanderer.” Knives face was no longer an emotionless canvas. He snarled, feeling unappreciated despite Vash treating other humans with more respect. “I freed you from your bounty a—”

“The people! The women, men, and children! The Plants! The animals! They’ll never come back no matter what we do now!” Vash breathed and cupped his eyes with his hand. “We can’t ever completely fix things, or be who we were to each other as children with Rem and the crew, but we can make the world better than how we’ve been treating it.” He met Knives’ glare again with determined eyes. “But if you don’t want to, then I won’t force you. I won’t force you to do anything. Not like—” He stopped before abruptly standing and leaving Knives with the cat. 

Knives was unsure how much time had passed after that. 

“Not like how I forced you,” he finally spoke. The Plant left his hand to rest over the cat’s spine, and when she lifted her head to meet his eyes, he looked away.

Knives wondered if Vash had truly forgiven him after all. 

Reluctantly, Knives gently set the cat beside the bowls he left out and entered the house. The human, Elizabeth, was present and was captivated by the plate of Christmas cookies on the decorated coffee table. It was easy enough to evaluate from her skittish mannerisms that she was overwhelmed, most likely from witnessing the Plant. Knives had always moved gracefully, so Elizabeth didn’t notice his presence until he strode around the couch in an attempt to avoid her. She sought to meet his eyes, but Knives focused on the short path to the staircase. 

Elizabeth dropped the cookie on her small plate and stood, brushing the crumbs off her dress while adjusting her posture to appear poised. She purposely stepped in his way to prevent him from reaching the stairs, he was sure of it. 

“Millions Knives, brother of Vash the Stampede… Your mother had an interesting imagination when it came to names, it seems.” She reached into a pocket inside of her dress near her cleavage, and Knives’ nose wrinkled in disgust as she presented a card to him. “My name is Elizabeth and I’m the chief engineer of the Marius Breslin Kantacle Technical Technician Industrial Union Work dispatch team. I’ve been sent to ensure that the…” She stared at her hand, her steady demeanor began slipping. “... The Plant is installed and health—” She shook her head then suddenly dropped her arm. She swiftly stepped toward him, and Knives remained stationary. She then leaned her body forward and entered Knives’ space, and he was prepared to shove her until Vash entered the room. “How did you do that with the Plant?! Vash wouldn’t spill about how you made it show itself. I-I didn't know they—they’re alive! They’re actually living beings!”

A crease appeared between Knives’ brows. He disliked this human for what she had done to his brother, but hadn’t he endangered Vash’s life as well? Hadn’t they talked about it minutes ago? 

“Yes, they’re alive,” he scowled. “Obviously _engineers_ are not adept in their fields. Did you assume the life support data under section 971810P23 is simply just for show? Why would a _machine_ need one to begin with?”

Elizabeth blinked before considering his words, then she raised her eyes. “Yes, but…” She cleared her throat, closing her eyes, and when she opened them, her excitement dulled. “How did you achieve such a thing? No one’s ever seen one or even knew they’re actually alive. Everyone has assumed they’re sensitive machines capable of the impossible.”

“Uh…” Vash placed a hand on Knives’ shoulder, and the Plant stiffened at the sudden contact before his body registered that it was his annoying twin. 

Vash said that they were suffering from a radiation-related mutation that was responsible for their _immortality_ , so Knives decided to utilize that information to humor her and his brother. “The _mutation_ we have not only grants us immortality, but it also connects us to the Plants in a way no ordinary human could ever possibly experience.” 

She widened her eyes before whirling toward Vash, who flinched and raised his arms to defend himself, as if Elizabeth were his pet, Stryfe. “You didn’t tell me that, Vash!”

 _‘You just made my life more complicated!’_ Vash shouted at Knives. 

_‘You’re implying I haven’t done so for the past few decades.’_

_“You—”_

“Vash,” Elizabeth asked softly. 

“Yes ma’am?!” 

“So you can actually communicate with them?!”

“Y-yes, we both can.” Vash gestured toward Knives. She flinched, and he smirked when his glare was effective. 

He tolerated humans to an extent, but he wouldn’t ever be tired of intimidating them. 

“Never in my life have I ever seen something so… I can’t even describe it.” She attempted to hand Knives her card again, and he finally accepted it but held it by the sleeve of his coat before stuffing it in a random pocket. 

_‘I need to explain a few other things,’_ Vash sent through telepathy. _‘You don’t have to, but I’d like for you to hear her out at least. After that, you can do whatever you want. I’m going to help her, though.’_

_‘Whatever I want, huh?’_

_‘Okay, no. Not—no!’_

Knives chuckled. He then vaguely shook his head, and when he focused his attention on Vash, his smile dropped. It wouldn’t _hurt_ to understand the situation more, could it?

Vash offered Elizabeth a spot on the couch beside him, and she accepted. Knives took the armchair across from it and dug his elbows into the cushioned armrests, locking his fingers together and leaning into them. He watched her reach for a huge carrying bag, and she set stacks of papers all neatly clipped together in divided packets. She had two stacks, and one was shifted to be closer toward Knives while the other was in front of Vash. 

“I’m not done with you, Vash,” she threatened playfully. “I have a feeling you’re keeping something from me.”

“Heh, well, what gave you that idea?”

 _‘Very inconspicuous,’_ Knives said. _‘The fact that we’re hiding what we truly are is proof enough that even you know humanity would potentially harm us if they discover a superior species lives among them.’_

“Like the fact that you didn’t tell me about your illness and its effects in Inepril years ago. I mean, it’s not like I wouldn’t have believed you, but if you can communicate with Plants, like what your brother said, why did those in July malfunction? They lifted the bounty from you because they ruled a malfunctioning Plant caused Lost July, but was that what really happened? Did the Plants tell you something?”

The Plants glanced at each other before returning to the human. She was perceptive, Knives would give her that. 

“Then we have the Fifth Moon incident. You were there, you supposedly died, and you managed to evacuate the town as if you knew something like July would happen again.” She approached him, and Knives noticed Vash shivered under her glare. “Spill it, Vash. You aren’t telling me something, and eventually, I’ll find out.”

 _‘If you tell her we’re Plants, what would she do? Do you know her so well as to trust her with such information?’_ Knives disliked this situation immensely. _“She will turn aggressive, gossip to other humans, and before you realize your foolish mistake, a mob of them will overwhelm us and dissect us—discard us as if we were nothing! As if we were taxidermied butterflies on display for their amusement!’_

“Elizabeth… I…” Vash struggled and rubbed the back of his neck. “A Plant did cause the explosions, but not in a way that you’d expect...”

Knives widened his eyes and jerked his head toward Vash, eyes icy and piercing into his skull. 

_‘I think if we give them a chance and slowly ease those who’d be willing to listen, then maybe one day the rest of the people will understand, too.’_

_‘You’re a fool!’_

Elizabeth dug her nails into Vash’s coat and yanked him down, closer to her face. Knives had the urge to grab her wrist and squeeze but refrained from doing so. If Vash trusted this human enough to actually admit to being something that wasn’t human—something that he had been running from for years—then Knives would convince himself to trust his little brother. Besides, Vash had told his pet and Thompson of his nature and they accepted him—assisted him when he was broken after he had murdered Legato and for years before. 

_‘It’ll take time, Knives,’_ Vash sent softly _. ‘We both read their history and how people fought for rights and their places in the world—the people changed and evolved.’_

Knives’ brows knitted together. _‘That’s the problem, Vash. Time_ . _When would they be ready? Hmph. Before or after our sisters die?’_

“That’s why I wanna help her,” Vash said aloud. He gently grabbed one of Elizabeth’s hands and gave it a squeeze. “Maybe if we tell her, it’ll make things easier. I’ve known her for a while now… She’ll be the only one besides the insurance girls.”

Elizabeth raised her demanding eyes. “Tell me what?”

Knives prepared to shout at his brother for considering something so foolish even after attempting to convince himself to trust Vash, but he considered Vash’s decision again and how his brother only ever revealed his true nature to those he truly trusted. 

Knives, however, refused to simply sit back and watch. 

“As long as she won’t spread the news or unleash a mob on us, then whoever you decide to reveal our nature to may very well be one of the two other exceptions in the vermin population.” 

“W-what?” Elizabeth asked, confused. 

Knives continued through telepathy. _‘If she does anything that would jeopardize us, it would be a reasonable choice to utilize my telepathy. Vash, I will monitor her if you tell her that we’re Plants. I won’t risk everything for the sake of this human.’_

_‘No! That’s her privacy! I trust her and she’s changed! That’s why she’s starting her organization!’_

_‘I don’t trust her!’_

_‘You’re not making an effort to get to know her!’_

_‘I can enter her mind if you’d like me to become acquainted.’_

_‘No—Knives! Please, just… If she does do something, then just take out the memory about us being Plants... If that’s what it’ll take, then I am going to ask her if it’s okay with you entering her mind.’_

Knives groaned. Why did his brother have to be so trusting and difficult?

How could Vash trust this human after what she had done to him? 

How could Vash trust him after everything? 

How did Vash trust anyone?

“What’s going on?!” Elizabeth demanded. 

_‘You’ll ask if it’s alright after you tell her? That’s not really in your favor considering if you tell her, I’ll enter her mind regardless.’_

_‘Compromise then, I guess! If that’s what it’ll take, but don’t—I mean it—don’t do anything else with her mind or intrude on other memories!’_ Vash then shook his head and laughed, which confused Elizabeth and even Knives. _‘Why are we making this so complicated? You don’t even have to monitor her. If people find out or if she does something, then who’s gonna really believe that we’re Plants?’_

Knives snarled at his sudden thoughts. _‘The people from and on the ship know of your nature! If she tells other humans, I’d have to alter other humans’ memories of you and perhaps—No! I have to constantly use telepathy, so perhaps I will move into the ship and monitor her unless you wish to do the honors—unless you’re reconsidering—’_

_‘No!’_

_‘Very well. I won’t do anything else to her mind. There’s probably not much inside anyway. If you believe in her cause—whatever that is—then I’ll listen, for now.’_

“Vash the Stampede, you better—”

Vash nodded, sighing in understanding before he grasped onto Elizabeth’s other hand and lowered them. Knives could tell Vash struggled with revealing their superiority.

“What are—”

“The reason why all that weird stuff happened to me is that…” Vash pursed his lips before opening his mouth again, then closing it. “Listen, uh, the reason why weird stuff always happens is… Well, okay, so over a century ago—”

“We’re a superior breed—greater than humans.” Knives smirked at both of their expressions. Why not entertain himself and toy with his brother? “If you reveal this information to anyone, I will see to it that you are silenced.”

“No! Don’t threaten her, and we’re not _superior!_ We’re different.”

“I—I don’t understand…”

Vash groaned before his shoulders slumped. “We’re Plants. We’re independent Plants specifically; we can live outside of the bulbs while the ones inside rely on them.”

Knives entered Elizabeth’s mind and was introduced to her immediate thoughts. She was confused, then curious as she recalled the abnormal occurrences revolving around his brother. She looked down, darting her eyes at everything but never remaining focused on one area in the room. Then she recalled his sister’s appearance and Knives’ response to her weeping. She then thought about July. 

This was becoming a hassle, but Knives couldn’t alter anything within her mind. Eventually, she’d probably discover who had caused such a catastrophe. 

Elizabeth shook her head and laughed. “Really, Plants? Vash, I know you’re a… you act like an idiot sometimes, but to—”

_‘Human.’_

Elizabeth froze, veering toward Knives, who had an arrogant smile. Vash tilted his head before realizing what happened. 

_‘This is one of many talents we possess,’_ Knives said, arrogantly. _‘Vash trusts you, but if you do anything that has us questioning your loyalties—like so many of your kind—then I will not tolerate your existence.’_

The human gawked at the two of them. Her body began to tremble, and she had to sit on the couch or risk falling and hurting herself. 

“Umm,” Vash sat beside her while Knives kept his distance on the armchair, “I wanna help. My brother might, but you need to convince him of your ideas.”

She looked down at the papers and folders she stacked. Without uttering a word, she began organizing them, and the brothers watched as she took minutes to prepare while conflicting emotions molded her face during each passing second. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Don't forget to Kudos and comment if you're into that. Let me know if there's any funky things happening because I wrote this dang chapter while going through chemotherapy.
> 
> Anyway, I hope it'll be alright for this fanfic to focus on aspects of these character's lives as well as them celebrating holidays most people in the west celebrate. I feel that when it comes to a slice of life story about the holidays, life will still happen and things aren't always about celebrations. This year is such a shitty year with life happening and worsening for people, so I hope this fanfic does bring happiness to people and especially since it's such a small fandom. I know people care deeply for Trigun, and they see this series as a way to cope with the world. I do too and I use Knives to vent about life, especially now. 
> 
> I'll be posting the next chapter most likely before the 28th because that's when I'll be tripping out on chemo drugs lol. Happy holidays or just have a good day if you don't celebrate.


	4. Spoken Forgiveness: Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new year is approaching the twins and insurance girls, but that doesn't mean the problems from the previous year will disappear.

Knives became increasingly invested in such an ambitious project as Elizabeth continued to speak. Although it seemed improbable, he and his brother had the inclination to achieve the extraordinary. Despite faltering in the beginning due to having to process the fact they were superior to her, she managed the presentation well. Her hand gestures were subtle, her posture was impeccable, and her dialogue lacked any pauses and added nonsense. She was straight to the point, blunt, and overall successful. Of course, Knives simply followed passively, but he was attentive. 

Perhaps there was more to her mind after all. 

Her planned organization was titled Society for Education in Plant Analysis and Longevity or _SEPAL_ and it was a research organization dedicated to altering the outdated data engineers and scientists had been employing but never improving on for decades. She desired to find alternative means to increase the longevity of the Plants while also reducing the strain so many of Knives’ sisters endured. Knives grimaced occasionally as he reflected on his experience with the engineers and scientists Legato had kidnapped while Knives was incapacitated after July. His irritation didn’t last long, because Elizabeth announced she aspired to update the ancient textbooks and other resources humans studied from.

Elizabeth sat down and gathered the papers she had presented. She continued to glance at them, and while Knives knew she was preparing to ask questions, he had already produced a few himself. 

Vash had moved to lean beside Knives in his chair. “Yep, so what do ya’ think, Knives?” He snaked an arm around Knives’ shoulders, his eyes twinkling. “It’s a plan that could use your insight.”

Knives raised a skeptical brow before straightening his back, shaking his shoulders as a warning for Vash to leave him be. Knives’ arms stiffly gripped onto the armrest as if he were a contemplating king on a throne. “Would you ever reveal our existence to the humans?” He entered Elizabeth’s mind and waited. 

Vash continued to stand beside him, his shoulder dropped. “Knives, c’mon.”

“Are you kidding?” Elizabeth asked. “One: I know people. I know. People are not ready to understand this information—especially since many don’t understand Plants or want to. I… I’m assuming Vash informed you of how we first met… I refuse to risk another Plant again. I refuse to risk people’s lives again. I want to change how things are run.”

“People can change. It’s gonna take some time, but I’ve seen it. They can!” Vash sank fast into the couch beside Elizabeth. 

Knives felt her emotions and discovered her statements and feelings were genuine, but he couldn’t risk her spilling such information accidentally. Thompson had done so once in public, and although the humans found her entertaining, Knives wasn’t amused. He assumed this human wouldn’t be as careless as Thompson, but he’d watch her until he was certain she could be trusted. 

Milly descended the stairs and yawned obnoxiously, running fingers through her disheveled hair. She halted and took in the scene before her. 

“Hey, Milly! How was your nap?” Vash asked.

“Oh, it was nice. I just woke up... Miss Elizabeth!” She stood beside Knives’ chair, and he hoped she wouldn’t invade his space similarly to his brother. “She’s the person you’ve been mentioning, right, Mr. Vash?”

“Yep, she’s the one who’s been helping the Plants and I’ve been helping her.” Vash raised his arms as if he had just unveiled Elizabeth's existence from behind an invisible curtain. “I would’ve said her name sooner, but you know how Meryl gets.”

“Hmph, which is the pet and which is the master,” Knives said and everyone glanced at him. 

“No!” Vash pouted, puffing his cheeks as he inhaled before exhaling in one gust of moist air. “What we have is a relationship!”

“It’s a neutral term and such bonds can be platonic. A dog and his master, for instance.”

“Meryl? Is that the short woman that was obsessed with you?” Elizabeth faced Vash. 

“Yes, ma’am! She and big girl here stalked me all the time.” Vash pointed a thumb toward the tall woman. “Right?” 

The woman in question waved. “I’ll go make us some… What would you three like?” she asked as she neared the kitchen. 

“A beer would be nice,” Vash answered. “Want some help?”

“No, I got it,” Milly responded. 

“Coffee, black,” Knives said coolly, almost demanding. 

Elizabeth watched them before saying, “Coffee with a teaspoon of cream and one spoon of sugar.”

The room fell silent, and as Knives continued to trespass on Elizabeth’s thoughts, he devised an answer to her problematic question. He almost acted on the urge to alter her mind to avoid asking, but he didn’t. 

“Before I ask anything else,” Elizabeth began, staring at her half-eaten cookie, “what really happened to July?”

Knives continued to face her. Vash looked away, his cheery character gone, and his confident position dropped a little. 

“You two don’t have a mutation caused by Plants. You can communicate with them because you’re part of the same species. Did a malfunctioning Plant—”

“Human,” Knives spoke, his tone hinting at his irritation. Vash glared at him, but Knives ignored it. “Despite having physical similarities to your kind, we are superior to you, even if my brother argues otherwise.” He relaxed into his armchair and pushed Vash away when he attempted to communicate telepathically. “I’ve speculated that due to being independent of the bulbs, we require the Long Colts or other means to activate certain abilities, such as the Angel Arms.”

“She doesn’t know what you’re talking about!” Vash cried, rubbing his right arm simultaneously. 

She narrowed her eyes and kept eye contact with Knives, never flinching at his glare or authoritative demeanor. “Angel Arms?”

Vash shut his eyes. “They’re…”

“While I attempted to understand our abilities,” Knives began, “Vash always denied the fact that he is a Plant for the sake of blending with humanity. This irresponsible decision led to him losing control of his Angel Arm in July. We’ve been apart for decades until seven years ago, so I was unable to guide him into understanding his potential.” 

“Here you go,” Milly said as she placed the drinks in front of everyone. “One black coffee, one with cream and sugar, and a cold beer.” 

_‘It wasn’t entirely my fault,’_ Vash spoke softly as he cracked open his can of beer. 

Knives brought his ceramic cup to his lips; it was the one painted with grapevines Milly had given him the previous year. He sighed into it, his breath blowing the liquid before he set it down. _‘Should I reveal that I destroyed July, then?’_ He glanced at Vash. _‘I’m confident that she’ll enjoy my company afterward.’_

_‘Maybe she will. Me and the girls are still around you even after everything you did.’_

Knives snapped his head toward Vash, eyes ready to challenge him. _‘We’re brothers.’_

Vash shook his head before tilting it back to gulp down half of his beer. Milly sat on one side of him while Elizabeth sat stiffly on the other, seemingly lost in thought until Milly suddenly trapped the other woman in a trivial conversation. Knives absently drank his coffee. 

_‘She has the right to know the truth—even if I’ve been keeping it from her—but you’re right. It’s not a good time._ ’ Vash sighed in content with a forced smile. _‘You two need to get along. If we can improve the Plants’ living conditions, we’ll have more time to find a solution to free them both from being dependent on each other. We can do it if we work together.”_

Knives grumbled. _‘Why do we need a human to accomplish that? If we cooperate to liberate our kind, then I doubt we’d need an engineer’s assistance.’_

 _‘We have a superior intellect,’_ Vash tapped his head to mock his brother, ‘ _as you say, but she has the connections and people trust her. Would they listen to strangers?”_

_‘Not unless we command them to do so.’_

_‘No!’_ Vash whined, almost crushing the can in his grasp _. ‘I don’t want you to. We can do better without harming each other or them.’_

 _‘Time, time, that’s what I’ve mentioned before. If we do this your way, nothing will change in our lifetime.’_ Knives raised his eyes toward the engineer, and when she flinched, he realized his glare must have been intense. _‘I tried to genetically alter the Plants for so long. How long would it take if I tried again? Even when I free them, they’d be enslaved by verm—’_

 _‘Okay, Mr. Negative,’_ Vash pointed his finger while the others wrapped around the can, then they began rhythmically tapping the aluminum. _‘You know, when we were kids wandering the desert, you said you killed the spiders to save the butterflies because humans leech off the Plants.’_

Knives furrowed his brows. Out of everything they discussed, argued, and fought about, _that_ was what Vash had to mention? Knives set the cup down on the table with a noticeable amount of force that the girls flinched at.

_‘Yes, I did.’_

_‘You know,’_ Vash placed the can beside the cup and opened his palms to face the ceiling. ‘I _still think we can save them both. We’re not going to be eaten and they won’t starve. Back then, I said you were wrong about the spider, but you are right, and so was I. There has to be another way.’_

_‘Could you actually offer another solution?’_

Vash finished his beer quickly. _‘Plants need humans to survive because they fix malfunctioning lost technology, and people need them to survive because they provide necessities. All we gotta do is find a way to get along.’_ Vash leaned forward, his upper half arching over the coffee table. _‘Terraforming. If we can find a way to terraform, then people can survive—’_

“Okay, thank you, Milly,” Elizabeth said before finishing the rest of her coffee. “I like a good family story, but we were busy talking about something important. Sorry to disrupt it.”

“Oh! Of course! Silly me! You know, Meryl really doesn’t like it when we go shopping and I talk to the cashier about them.” Milly stood. “I’ll leave you all to it, then.”

“You can stay, Milly,” Vash said before turning to Elizabeth. “The girls know about us, so you don’t have to worry; you all can gossip together about this handsome devil.” He grinned, and Knives rolled his eyes.

“That’s okay, Mr. Vash. If I stay, I’ll ask a bunch of questions and slow things down. Bye Mr. Vash! Mr. Knives,” she chirped while waving.

Elizabeth sighed before sinking back into the couch. “You did destroy July. You remember now, or did you always remember?”

Vash rubbed the back of his neck before nodding, hiding half of his face behind the beer can before taking a sip, but it was empty. “The Angel Arms are weapons we can create if we had the guns.” At Elizabeth’s widened eyes, he refrained. “I got rid of the guns years ago. July and Augusta… won’t ever happen again.” Vash’s voice grew quiet, and Knives quirked a brow at his brother's hesitancy. 

Elizabeth scowled and shook her head in disbelief. “Vash, if this Angel Arm is a biological aspect of yourself, and it can only be activated if you had those weapons, why did you even have them begin with? Where did you get them?!”

“I created them,” Knives admitted, bluntly. 

They both stared. “You? Why?” Elizabeth inquired.

The guns were a means to rid the planet of garbage and prolong their suffering. Now, Knives was supposedly going to cooperate with her, likely her _engineers,_ and whoever Vash wanted him to meet. It was too much, really. 

“For our protection since vermin were fighting for dominance across the planet. As you said, you are aware of how humans act when faced with something beyond their comprehension.”

“H… How old are you two?”

“137 years, although I’m the older one.”

“Older?” Vash cocked his head to the side. “Technically, we really don’t know since they found us at the same time. You just want to say you’re older.”

Elizabeth nearly dropped her glass of water. 

“Well, I guess we should start from the beginning…” Vash gave Knives a pleading look. Knives would gladly boast about his deeds toward her kind, but he knew Vash wanted him to remain civil. 

Although they didn’t lie about their experiences, Vash portrayed Knives as a passive figure that hadn’t doomed humanity or hampered the lives of the surviving humans. No, he was rarely ever named as Vash described their history from their earliest memory of being carried in Rem’s arms to what Vash described as having a _dispute_ and parting ways after Knives created the Long Colts.

Elizabeth listened intensely, forgetting her refilled cup. Vash further elaborated on events when he was rescued by the doctor and the other now crashed ship’s residents. 

“We just couldn’t get along until seven years ago and even now we have issues,” Vash spoke while Elizabeth nodded and Knives held his head in hand, leaning into the armrest with an uninterested demeanor. “After years of being apart, we’re finally getting along the best we can.” Vash locked his fingers together on his lap for emphasis. 

“... This is a lot to…” Elizabeth faltered, but she remained sitting professionally upright. “At least you two stayed alive long enough to see each other again.”

“Look,” Vash said as he reached for his pile of papers and textbooks, “Knives doesn’t trust you, but maybe you can prove that you’re willing to put your all into these ideas—show him what you’re capable of.” Vash turned to Knives, eyes begging, and the older twin scoffed. 

“Your thoughts and actions will be monitored regularly while I’m residing in the ship until I decide not to.”

“Knives…”

“W-Wha—Why?! My thoughts?” Elizabeth stammered.

“You’ve already heard me in your _mind._ I can invade your memories along with other areas, but I’ll only observe thoughts and actions. If you reveal anything that is spoken within these walls, I will kill you.”

Vash gagged on his saliva before pounding his chest. “Gah—Knives!”

_‘A little intimidation goes a long way, Vash.’_

Elizabeth remained stationary, but Knives caught the brief shift of her brows. 

_‘You threatened to kill her!”_

“I promised Vash I wouldn’t kill humans unnecessarily, but there will be consequences if others are informed of our existence. You’d relinquish the privilege of serving superiors and lose the memories associated with us.” He paused for a moment and sneered. “If you display malicious intent towards us in any way—thoughts, actions, verbal communication—then I will force you to forget everything you’ve ever learned about Plants.” Knives recalled almost wiping Thompson and Stryfe’s memories years ago, but Vash had ordered them to keep their distance from where Knives resided until he gradually tolerated their existence. 

Vash scowled at Knives and said, “You can trust her.”

“You’d trust every human!”

“Knives, please.”

“He can do that…?” Elizabeth asked. 

Knives nodded. “You’ll forget about us and the critical knowledge you use to live comfortably on this planet as an engineer.” What Knives didn’t mention was that he’d inform his sisters to report back to him if Elizabeth attempted to converse with anyone else about them being Plants. 

The silence was thick, and Elizabeth’s face contorted in confusion, obviously piecing the puzzle of their lives together with missing parts. Vash gave him a disapproving frown, but Knives ignored his brother’s lack of gratitude since he could’ve simply killed her. Knives then muffled a chuckle as he monitored her thoughts. 

“Elizabeth,” Vash began, reaching for her hand and squeezing it gently, “give yourself some time. You can talk to the doctor or the girls if you want about us.” He offered a cordial smile, a smile Knives was convinced that got Vash out of disputes with humans before. “It isn’t easy, but if you understand us, then it’d be easier for us to help. Knives will have to stalk you for a while, but he won’t hurt you.” He eyed his brother. “He _won’t_ hurt you.”

“Is he usually the hurting type?” she asked, a passive look on her face, but Knives heard her irregular breaths. 

“Not recently, no. We just have different ways of dealing with whatever the world throws at us. Look.” Vash handed Knives one of the papers and he reluctantly inspected its contents. “We’ll look over this while you give yourself some time. If you have any questions…” He widened his eyes and his jaw nearly fell to the floor, an obvious sign of Vash developing one of his _brilliant_ ideas. “Be right back!”

Knives felt the woman’s eyes bore into his skull, but he couldn’t avert his attention from the piece of paper with information regarding one of the Plant's many technical and complex systems. He scoffed often, then he snorted once, which made him scowl. He reached a particular sequence of code and other equations and laughed before turning the page over. The math and reasoning were inadequate to a damaging degree. It was a wonder Plants hadn’t already died. The human woman seemed confused as he swallowed his chuckles. The paper limped over his hand as he searched the table for a writing utensil and spotted a pen perched over the woman’s ear. Without warning, and without her noticing, he leaned forward and snatched it from her ear with speed her mind couldn’t register. With a superior smirk, he leaned back on the armchair and worked on his edits. 

“Okie dokie, here ya go,” Vash said as he handed Elizabeth a pen. “This is a communication device. Just tap the button and talk into it and I’ll hear ya. If I wanna ask ya something, you’ll hear me.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened as if she were a child acting on curiosity while inspecting it. She pressed the button and spoke to it, which was heard from Vash’s earring. “The doctor has lost technology like this. This is older than the ones he recently developed and your arm is so advanced I should’ve known something more was going on with you.” She reached for the pen that should’ve been over her ear, and when her fingers brushed against hair, she turned to find it in Knives’ hand as he scribbled on the paper over one of the textbooks. “When—How?”

“Your inferior mind couldn't register my pace,” Knives said with a hint of arrogance. “If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve assumed you wrote a comedy.” He set the pen and paper in front of her on the table.

Vash looked over the paper. “Hey, people worked hard on these. They're trying to help Plants, look,” he said as he pointed out a few equations and handed Knives the same sheet.

Knives chuckled. “Oh yes, to help shorten their lives.” 

Vash handed the paper to Elizabeth and she wearily crinkled it as she glared at Knives. “I didn’t say to edit on the page directly! What the hell did you change?! These were sensitive notes and information regarding the Plants!”

Knives should’ve known. Even _she,_ like the engineers and scientists he had confined on his ship, was attached to such foolish practices. “They are outdated regulations. Humans rely on these ancient methods and because the Plants aren’t usually responsive, they have to accept your _assistance_ in reducing their lifespans.”

Elizabeth prepared to speak, but she closed her mouth and reconsidered her outburst. Now Knives realized why Vash revealed their identities; she wouldn’t ignore the valuable information from them and such a fact was solidified by revealing their true natures. Still, Knives didn’t trust this woman even though her sentiments and thoughts were honest. 

“Knives,” Vash began, “when will you move into the ship? If you want, I’ll join you for a bit.” 

Knives shrugged. “My only concerns are my family and her intentions.” 

“Alright.” Elizabeth nodded before standing and flattening the wrinkles of the dress. “Vash the Stampede. Millions. It was… a life-changing experience. I know words won’t be enough, but I promise I won’t recount this to anyone. I’m not comfortable with you reading my mind, but I’ll agree to this for now.” 

Knives dismissed himself and left to retrieve the essentials before moving.

“Knives? Your things?” Vash said, wiggling a finger toward the stack of clipped papers and worn textbooks. 

Knives groaned before taking a step, then he abruptly turned to collect the _outdated_ materials and entered his room to pack. He thought he was placing too much faith in his brother, but even though Vash was a trusting idiot—loving humans left and right—he had judged those closely surrounding him and they had proved their loyalty to a superior. 

Knives waited for Vash to inform the doctor of his predicament and how he required a chamber in the ship near Elizabeth’s. In the meantime, Knives packed his necessities and arranged to stay for months if needed—a year, maybe. He wrote detailed instructions as a safety precaution if he couldn’t visit often enough to tend to his garden. 

Once he and Vash reached the ship and stepped into Knives’ room, he smirked at being given the captain’s quarters, which was one of the most spacious rooms available. A functioning and equipped kitchen - furnished with comfortable seats with therapeutic aesthetics - and a wide desk for projects were what he favored, though he had been used to a minimalist lifestyle for most of his life. 

After Knives’ troublesome brother insisted on giving him a tour of the room, Vash left him to settle in. Knives went to unpacking what little he brought, and when he reached the papers and textbooks, he disregarded them on the coffee table before shelving his personal books between the kitchen and living room. 

He had been monitoring Elizabeth ever since he left, and such a task was child’s play compared to what he had endured the previous year. Her thoughts were of them, unsurprisingly, and occasionally she’d picture the Plant within the bulb and couldn’t quite compare him and Vash to their sister. If Knives desired it, he could’ve barged into her room and alter his arm to remind her of what he was. Vash would disapprove...

Days passed while Elizabeth continued to cope with the existence of the twins. Knives remained in his room, and Vash often left the ship to visit Stryfe and Thompson. While occupying himself with Elizabeth and his own affairs, Knives had developed a plan to test her worth.

It was amusing to monitor her while she worked, dealing with incompetents who dared call themselves engineers and scientists. Elizabeth was working with humans who had written about Plant safety protocol in some of the academic journals now in Knives’ possession.

It seemed every human surrounding Elizabeth had a talent for writing comedies. 

Knives sat in his chair, both hands grasping onto the arms as he straightened his posture against it. He breathed, meditating for a moment to prepare himself and his sister. He had warned her of his plan and had to elaborate on his reasoning, which she agreed to. He had done this before. He frowned at the memory of the times he forced a Plant to overload. He planned to test how Elizabeth would handle an overloading Plant.

He chuckled as the vermin panicked at the sight of a humming bulb with a glow that gradually intensified to signal a potential explosion. Elizabeth commanded the other engineers, demanding an explanation and to identify who was responsible.

The Plant continued to glow, the humans quivered in fear, but Elizabeth remained calm while ordering others to control the situation by positioning them in numerous places. She then warned to prepare for a possible evacuation, and she cursed severely when some of her underlings scrambled to the exit. She panicked slightly but remained rational while deciding to contact Vash for assistance through the pen. Knives sighed, knowing he’d be lectured for this. Before he distanced himself from his sister, he opened his eyes. 

Knives was accustomed to humans only worrying for themselves or their materialistic possessions when it came to his sisters’ malfunctioning bulbs; either that or they abandoned the Plant. 

Not her. Elizabeth’s sudden emotional state was… genuine, similarly to what he felt from her during their first meeting. Her frantic heart reacted to the thought that the Plant would possibly perish. Not just the technology—the being within. She valued his sister as much if not more than the lives of the cowering engineers and even herself, which was unusual given how humans strive for self-preservation. She also feared for the safety of the other two Plants in the ship, because she cared and not because of what his species would provide for hers. Knives was left pondering the results of his _test_ after ordering his sister to calm. It was one of many to come, but he had to wait because his idiotic brother had accidentally revealed the culprit behind the Plant’s behavior. 

“Millions Knives!” Elizabeth shouted, pounding on the door to his room sometime later. “You better have a good explanation for this!”

 _‘Knives…’_ Vash whispered. _‘It’s wrong for you to use the Plants like this.’_

 _‘Vash.’_ Knives crossed his legs while he sat in his chair. _‘It was a test, as I said before.’_

_‘You still scared people. Did you have to do that to her and the others?’_

_‘I had the situation under control.’_

_‘Elizabeth just left in a rage... She reminds me of Meryl a bit.’_

_‘If you think I can’t handle her, then you’ve clearly forgotten who your brother is.’_

_‘... I haven’t.’_

Knives shifted uncomfortably in his chair. _‘I won’t harm her, Vash. However, if you tell her whenever I do something—’_

 _‘If_ _want the Plants and people to survive, she’s one of our best bets.’_

Knives rolled his eyes before glancing at his locked door. He debated with himself, and before realizing it, he unlocked it with a lengthy sequence of numbers. He glared down at Elizabeth, internally curious by her glistening eyes and irritated by the noises she made. 

“What the hell was that about?! I thought the Plant was going to die! Vash tried to hide that it was your doing, but he accidentally said your name when I asked.” Her clenched fists dug into her thighs. 

Knives quirked a brow. He didn’t have to ask since her thoughts spoke louder than words, but he was curious about how she'd choose to react. “You’re more concerned about my sisters than the fact that you could’ve died yourself.”

Elizabeth froze, her face softening from its previous enraged expression. She then uncurled her fingers and her arms dangled at her sides. She then challenged his glare with one of her own, and Knives was entertained by her attitude—a challenge. Midvalley and Legato had immediately submitted to him, and such a reaction was devoid of excitement, but this human was something else entirely. 

She knew what he was, what Vash was, and hadn’t betrayed them—yet. She confronted him even, which if he were the same Plant that had caused July, he would’ve— 

Well, he didn’t make a life-altering promise to his brother back then. 

“Human,” Knives spoke, and long ago he would’ve spat the word. “I’m curious. Why did you weep at the sight of the Plant when we were communicating?”

Her eyelids sagged slightly before she returned to her fierce gaze. She then sighed before glancing at everything in his room. “Vash said he told you about how we met. If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve been a criminal and lost everything. Now, even though he caused July’s destruction, he didn't have the intention to. I nearly took his life and the Plant’s’.” She met his glare, and Knives found himself staring into her sorrowful eyes. He felt his face relax as he listened mentally and externally. “Trapped. They’re trapped. I’m sorry that I almost murdered your brothersh and the Plant. It was a mistake I’m trying to correct now.”

“They’re enslaved and have been even before humans crashed on this desolate planet. Experimentation, abuse, injections, cancer, torture.” With each word, Knives spoke with a hint of venom that gradually intensified. “Humans created Plants, and they played God with their creations.”

“I understand that, Millions. When I saw the Plant, I was overwhelmed by the memories of what I had almost done. Now, ever since then, I’ve been perfecting plans for the organization. But people will challenge me.”

Knives scoffed. “Of course humans would resist innovation. Your engineers and scientists cling to ancient practices that have been harming my kind for generations.”

“Excuse me,” she demanded his attention, “now what have you been up to for the past hundred thirty-seven years?” She pointed, accusing him. 

Now if he revealed _that_ to her at this moment, Vash might have the nerve to rip his head—legs off again. Before he could react, she interrupted his thought process. 

“I realized people can be disgusting long ago, but I’m trying to improve things now. It’s… hard when the higher-ups coordinate everything related to Plant maintenance, the school system, and everything in between. Every double dollar counts to them, even at the expense of the Plants.” She gestured toward the stacks of papers, some of them curiously scattered on the coffee table. “If I continue with my plans for the organization, they’ll…”

Of course. Humans had always manipulated the masses, subliminally and otherwise, and Knives was infuriated to be reminded that they were repeating their history. He breathed deeply to manage his anger. 

This woman was no different, wasn’t she.

Oh, how Vash should’ve been appreciative of his efforts to tame his temper.

“Hm, I’m assuming a solution to your interference is to kill you,” Knives said as he turned away to then sit in front of the papers. “Have you been targeted?”

Elizabeth continued to stand while she watched him read through a paper heavily marked with notes and scribbles. “Yes. Months ago, my bodyguard was injured by one of many assassins. Now, I’ve halted my attempts to start this project, but once I continue, they’ll be after me again most likely.”

Knives chuckled; he was reading through another page as she spoke.

“What’s so funny?”

Knives continued to read. “These regulations are nothing but comical. If I had left your kind to their own devices, you all potentially would’ve caused every Plant to overload, but I needed—” He needed them for Eden. Back then, he had planned to use his sisters to create a new world, potentially draining them similarly to what humans were doing and had done. 

If he’d done so, he would have been more human than Plant. 

“And how would these regulations do such a thing? Hm?” she demanded, snatching the paper Knives loosely held in his grasp, and if he weren’t so amused, he would’ve smacked her for such a disrespectful act. 

He loomed over her as she read his notes and altered her expressions from irritated to curious. “It’s difficult for an inferior human to recognize this,” he pointed at a section he bracketed and wrote enough to overwhelm those unknowledgeable, “and in another two-hundred years or so, the Plants with these regulations will either explode or simply cease to function. I’ve suggested calibrations to these few pages that would reduce the strain on my sisters and prolong their lives by 52%.”

She gaped, and Knives watched closely and listened to her mind. She was blank—shocked most likely. He wondered if she’d catch his lie. 

“Nearly thirty years ago,” he began. “I had made these discoveries after years of rigorous self-study to understand my kind.”

She reached for other papers and sat to interpret them. Knives continued to listen inside her mind, entertained by her flow of shifting thoughts as she pieced the information, but she found parts that didn’t fit. He entered the kitchen and returned with the cold cup of iced tea. He crossed his legs, balanced it over his knee, and watched with amusement.

“No,” she finally said after three minutes, “that doesn’t make sense. Comparing our notes, the Plants would have an increased output of 23% while extending their lifespan.”

Perhaps she wasn’t as incompetent as the engineers Knives had met throughout his long life. Still, she was human. 

“Yes,” he spoke. 

“Was this another test?”

He sipped his tea and focused on the ice cubes clinking against the glass. 

“Do what you have to do, but do not,” she stood and now she was towering over him as he sat, “do not mess with the Plants like you did today. Why would you do that to a fellow Plant?”

Knives chuckled before setting his cup down and standing alongside her. Even with his height - strength obvious with the slightly tight blue long-sleeved shirt Stryfe stitched for him -and piercing eyes, Elizabeth stood her ground and expected him to yield. 

Vash certainly knew how to select his own humans.

“I will determine what actions are appropriate; however, for my brother, I will refrain from using such methods. There are other ways to _test_ you.”

“You‘re testing to see if you can trust me. You already listen to my thoughts… What would it take for you to trust me?”

Knives pondered on that for a moment. “You’re human. Despite how Vash’s humans behave, I’ve never fully trusted them. Tolerated, yes, but I would be a fool to disregard their potential entirely.” No matter how comfortable he became while living with the women, he still held onto the lesson he had learned as a child: Never entirely trust a human. 

“I thought you’d be like your brother, but I was wrong.”

“If he had done as I asked before we parted, he’d be better off.” He averted his eyes for a moment. 

She set the papers down. “What exactly would those beliefs be?”

The Plant raised the glass to his lips before opening a textbook. “To not be an irresponsible idiot.”

She chuckled. “Irresponsible—maybe. Idiot, no. I’ve seen what he and the doctor can do.”

Knives furrowed his brows at the sudden wave of her memories from years ago involving his brother, and Vash’s humiliating behavior wrinkled the rest of Knives’ face. 

Why did his brother have a history of acting like a dog? 

“We’re quite capable of achieving the impossible.” Knives leaned back into his chair. “You’re privileged to be part of the few humans who are knowledgeable of our existence.”

She rolled her eyes. “We’ll see. Like most privileges, it can easily be revoked.”

He raised a brow but said nothing else. 

Other than monitoring Elizabeth’s thoughts and actions throughout the ship and when she traveled outside, Knives remained in his room for those days with the occasional visit from her, Thomson, Stryfe, and his brother. Out of everyone who visited, Knives found himself somewhat appreciating the novelty of Elizabeth’s company. She and Vash offered their own unique challenges, and even though they were educated, Elizabeth clung to logic with blunt clarity and a realistic view of the world compared to Vash; his brother tended to focus on the possibilities, disregarding facts that criticized his views and methods. 

Knives often found himself visiting the library that had opened months ago and finally used the membership card Vash had given him. He soon developed a schedule when the library was least populated and the areas within where humans didn’t sojourn. There, he’d continued to improve the materials given and write mocking notes Elizabeth found both humorous and annoying depending on her mood. 

Christmas had passed, and New Year’s Day neared sooner than Knives had anticipated. He basked in the pleasant weather as he returned home from the library after hours of rigorous study. He carried a traveling bag and brought some of his favorite books and cheap whiskey Vash craved for their New Year’s Day celebration. Knives had read quite frequently while living in his own ships, but something about grasping onto a physical book felt more satisfying than straining his eyes while reading on a monitor. 

He wondered who was in the house, and when he reached out, he felt his brother inside. That was unusual considering he also moved into the ship for a time and usually remained to work with the doctor or the engineers. 

When Knives stepped inside after unlocking the door, his eyebrows knitted together as he felt the heavy atmosphere. Something wasn’t quite right, and he reassured himself that only Vash was present. He set the books Thompson requested on the coffee table and left his pack on the couch before entering his bedroom where his brother waited. 

_‘Vash?_ ’ Knives sent, but he felt his brother forcefully push him away. 

What did he do _this_ time? 

Knives grasped the knob but hesitated when he heard his brother sniffling.

What was his brother crying about _this time_? 

“Vash?” Knives called out as he pushed the door open.

Knives remained calm, eyes narrowed, and his stance radiated confidence, but his heart sank at the sight of his brother slouching over the edge of the bed. Past Vash was his desk where Thompson’s damaged music box lay in the middle, then Knives focused his attention back to his weeping brother. He thought he had hidden the cause of Vash’s discomfort in the room well enough; Knives could see the familiar silver gun slightly sinking into the blanket. 

Vash’s face contorted with disdain, a wrinkled appearance that made him look his age as he stared at the floor. “I thought I could trust you, Knives.” His voice was screechy and sounded betrayed. 

“As you should,” Knives affirmed. 

“W-Why did you—the guns! Why do you have them? Why are you hiding them?” Vash turned his head, slowly. The trail of tears began drying. 

Knives crossed his arms. “They’re mine. You discarded them.”

“I’m guessing you picked them up when you left for those months.”

Knives simply nodded. 

“The one you’ve been carrying isn’t the gun I gave you, is it? The Plant told me it isn’t.”

Knives shook his head slightly. He should’ve known his sister would remain cautious of his motives and possibly tell his brother of the weapon, but he had been... distracted.

Vash’s face went deadpan. “When were you planning on blowing us up?”

Knives furrowed his brows, then he uncrossed his arms and approached his brother in purposeful steps. “Really, Vash? After everything, you—”

“Why else would you hide them? Hide the black one with parts from the gun I gave you?!” Vash stood, his body stiff, and he was heaving breaths. 

Knives glanced at the black Long Colt holstered at his side and slowly grasped onto the grip. He presented it to his brother, who slightly flinched away. 

“I left those guns and the coat for a reason!” Vash’s face now displayed his disappointment. “You still want to kill them.”

Knives prepared to speak, but he sighed and avoided his brother's eyes. Yes, he had grown used to being among humans, befriended his brother’s favorites, and lived in close proximity with them, but there was always the voice—the part of himself that demanded he should return to his _senses._ The vermin had to perish. He would terraform the planet with his brother and create Eden. Those thoughts and feelings had always clashed with ones that had been developing over the past several years.

Knives remained unreadable as he met Vash’s eyes. 

“Yes.”

Immediately, his little brother’s anger was more apparent than ever; Knives hadn’t seen Vash look this way in quite some time. It was inevitable, Knives would admit to himself. No longer was Vash a victim to his cruelties; no longer was he the same brother. No, Vash had attempted to change, to face the world and _love_ those he cherished. Now, Knives had found those weapons and in doing so, Vash’s past life returned. Knives hadn’t thought about that. He knew Vash would object to having them, but Knives had hidden them away, believing his brother would understand eventually why he retrieved them. They were simply for comfort. The guns were their siblings after all. They were his. 

It took minutes, but Vash made his choice. In one quick motion - too swiftly to be seen by mortal eyes - he grabbed his silver gun and aimed it between Knives’ dull eyes. Knives remained outwardly calm, but his heart raced at the sight of the gun used to cripple him on multiple occasions. 

“I told you a while ago not to give me a reason to shoot you, Knives.”

Knives blinked slowly. 

Vash lowered his eyes to examine the scuffs Knives hadn’t repaired on the silver gun. “How can I trust you when you still have these and you want to kill them?” he spoke softly. 

Knives turned his gun over as if he’d find something different about it. “You can’t, I suppose. I could’ve killed that human that nearly killed you last year. I could’ve blown up the city by now.” He met Vash’s eyes and snarled. “Vash! I have lived with my ideologies for as long as you have; you shouldn’t think for a moment that ignoring them is an effortless endeavor. Look at you! It took Legato killing that priest, then you returning the favor and accepting what you are to—”

Vash cocked the hammer back. Knives froze, but his posture gave no indication of his internal turmoil. 

“I ran away when we talked about July and Elizabeth, but now I’m not. I can’t let you succeed, Knives. I can’t let you because if we’re all that’s left, I’ll make sure you’re the only one to enjoy Eden.”

Knives sneered, but his heart felt as if it stopped at Vash’s hidden implication. “Suicide? You’d rather kill yourself than be with me? I thought you disapproved of it.”

“I do. I’d be the one to hide from you; I’d make sure you’d never find me.”

Knives pondered on that. What if Vash discovered a way to completely separate from him? Vash had been gradually accepting what he was over the years. It was possible. Knives had always felt his twin throughout his life through their connection - no matter the distance - and for that feeling to be completely severed from him was…

“Running away? Of course,” Knives responded coldly. 

“There wouldn’t be anything to run from that’s worth staying for!” Vash slightly squeezed the trigger, his arm trembled but he steadied the gun. “Rem told me to take care of you… This is one way to take care of you. I don’t want this, but how can I trust you? What do you want now?! Are you gonna torture Meryl and Milly? Are you gonna make me suffer again until you get your way?”

Knives stared for a moment. Vash’s emotions were justified, but if he had truly forgiven Knives, then shouldn’t he have already overcome his doubts? Vash had overcome the grievances caused by vermin easily before. Knives reflected on the conversation they had while sitting against the house in the backyard. 

“You haven’t ever forgiven me, not really.”

Vash’s control wavered as he slightly lowered the gun and widened his eyes. “I-I… I don’t know.”

“Yes, that’s it. You’d forgive rapists, murderers, pedophiles, slavers, arsonists, thieves, and the like, but when it comes to your brother—your flesh and blood that hasn’t reverted to his previous ways—I’m treated differently, worse than irredeemable human garbage. I’m not human, is that the problem? Humans kill each other and learn to cope with their atrocities. Are my sins horrendous not because I killed, but because I killed so many? Rem and the millions of others? I’m still your brother—still capable of exterminating humanity at any moment!” Knives nonchalantly raised his own gun and aimed it at Vash’s forehead, but he kept his fingers away from the trigger. 

Vash gawked at his brother, eyes wide and never averting from his twin. His arm shook violently, seemingly debating whether shooting Knives was the best choice, convincing himself that to ‘take care of Knives’ meant ending his potential reign of terror, forever.

“You want forgiveness? Okay, what should I _forgive_ you for?” Vash asked, his voice raised slightly as he steadied his weapon again. 

Knives’ eyes narrowed then closed in contemplation. Forgiveness… He had accomplished quite a bit in his life, and had done things his brother would surely never forget, but forgive? If his brother truly wanted to know, then Knives wouldn’t remain silent. 

The older twin opened his eyes and his face hardened as the seconds ticked by. Knives watched his own knuckles whiten as he replayed the memory in his head. “You ran from me a century ago because you were afraid of your superiority. I knew you had to experience what horrors humanity was capable of, so I allowed you to mingle with them for decades. Maybe you’d finally see what they are and despise them as much as I do, but I should’ve known better.

“Before July, I managed to hack into the now crashed ship’s databases, knowing you were among them, and planted false information regarding Rem’s _relative._ ” Knives watched Vash’s grip tighten on his weapon. “I also wanted my gun back. I wanted my brother back. 

“When we finally met, you really hadn’t changed. I had already seen your scars thanks to the files the ship kept of you. Decades among them and you still thought humans deserved to live, so my anger got the better of me.” His grip slackened on the gun as he recalled the blood that spilled from his brother's stump. “I felt powerful, confident that you’d finally realize that you weren’t human, and killing them would sever the chain Rem had around you. What I hadn’t counted on was your memory loss wiping away that growth, but would it have changed you? 

“After I was reduced to a torso, I sought to survive. I could regenerate what was necessary to live, but it took everything for me to stay alive while buried under rubble. I attempted to reach you, but you weren’t there, and I thought you were abandoning me again and your ‘everything has the right to live’ nonsense didn’t apply to me—only to the humans. I didn’t deserve to live, apparently.” He released a humorless laugh.

“I survived the ordeal because a young adolescent boy was conscious and able to _assist_ me. I commanded him with what energy remained, and since vehicles and other forms of transportation were also destroyed, he had to pull my body out of the rubble and across the desert. Eventually, we were running low on supplies, which I had commanded him to gather until a vehicle drove by. I had the boy dispose of the driver and he drove us to my ship, Pequod, near Demetrihi. There, I managed to command the boy to free the Plant scientists I had in cryogenic pods to assist the boy in strapping my body into a healing bulb, where I remained for two decades.”

Knives placed a finger on the trigger and remained calmer than his struggling twin. 

“I remained asleep for years after that, and when the boy turned into a man, I discovered that he remained affected by my telepathy even while I laid dormant. I had learned his original name, but that child evolved. So, I named him Legato Bluesummers. My obsession with revenge led me to plan on how to return the pain I had endured. I couldn’t accomplish this plan myself, so I had to rely on Legato, who had eagerly accepted the idea of replacing his arm with your preserved one he was ordered to take in July as well. Plant DNA has similarities to human DNA, so it's no surprise that your arm accepted Legato. In doing this, he gained abilities and was able to activate your arm.”

Vash gasped for breaths, his eyes slightly turning blue as he grasped onto his silver Long Colt with both hands. 

“Oh, I didn’t trust Legato. I ordered him to command the militia he had gathered to make you suffer, but I never wanted you to die. After he had mastered his abilities, he became harder to manipulate, which I had anticipated, but since he was human, I doubted he’d be able to resist me. My telepathy couldn't reach or command him when he believed killing you was what I wanted. This is when that priest enters the picture during the time the Gung-Ho Guns were sent by Legato.” Knives suppressed a snarl as Vash began pulling the trigger. “Evergreen from his cult, the Eye of Michael, discovered my existence and sent me his best assassins. Legato guided Evergreen and the priest to my ship, and I ordered Legato away and gave specific orders to the priest that I wanted him to be your babysitter and guide. It was a job that ensured he’d be rewarded and his orphans protected.

“The priest was also sent to betray you—show you how greedy and selfish the vermin could be if it meant that their atrocities would result in their favor, but I hadn’t anticipated that he’d risk his life and his orphans’ lives to betray me. I knew having him deceive you wouldn’t have killed you since he was no match.”

Vash began crying, tears staining his coat as he aimed directly for Knives’ heart instead. Knives steadied his gun, but even he couldn’t control his breaths as he became drowned in his thoughts. 

“I remained in the bulb for over twenty years. I slept through most of it, but each time I awakened, my hatred conflicted with my relationship with you. You’re my brother. You’re my other half. I supposed Rem would’ve labeled these feelings as _love,_ but I wasn’t sure. I never wanted you dead, and when I finally was tired of Legato after regenerating my legs, I killed Evergreen, slowly, and ordered Midvalley to torment you and the residents of the city, but never to kill you. Legato’s punishment for sending vermin to kill you was to die, but not by his own hands—one of them.” Knives laughed then, and Vash looked horrified. “I ordered him to make you suffer and in doing so, he’d have to forfeit his life in an endeavor for you to evolve past your pitiful existence and be by my side again. You should’ve been broken, an irreversible mess that needed support from someone who understood you. What human could possibly understand you? I wasn’t expecting your pet to even bother with you after that, but she and Thompson had proven their worth to your cause, I suppose.

“I made my location very clear. I wanted you to come to me because you needed me. That overconfidence backfired. The rest is history.”

Knives watched Vash’s fingers tighten again around the trigger.

“Will you ever forgive me, dear brother?” he mocked. He readied himself as his fingers pressed the trigger. “Are you going to shoot me again?” Knives smirked, but it fell when he met Vash’s conflicted eyes. “Could you forgive yourself if you did kill me?”

Vash tightly shut his eyes.

“Would you ever really trust me?” Knives asked softly.

“... I want to.”

“Even after everything—the effort I have given because of y—and you still don’t quite trust me. Even after leaving for months without causing a catastrophic incident—giving me a weapon! You always favored them, so what’s the point in all of this? How many humans had broken promises and were forgiven? If I break mine, would you forgive me?” 

“... I don’t know! … Mistakes happen.”

“Have you forgiven so many that you’ve forgotten what forgiveness truly means or its effect? How many have betrayed you again and again? The priest? He murdered many of the Guns to protect you, and you still favored him! When I murdered Steve to protect us, you lashed out. You favored Rem even though she abandoned us for them! It’s always them! I’m pleased that I killed her and you realized the hold she had on you! When I extinguish them, your pet, create Ed—”

That sound was so familiar. Knives had heard it countless times. Their Long Colts had a peculiar echo to them, a deep wailing noise that haunted Knives during their previous confrontation. It was foolish of him to have once stated their battle in the geo-plant he nurtured had been their final confrontation. It was bound to occur again. The cycle.

Knives staggered back, his left arm dangling at his side, swinging as his body vigorously trembled. The black Long Colt clanked on the ground before it too immersed itself in the heavy silence. They both froze and the stillness was broken by the panting from the younger brother while the oldest stared at the blood seeping into the very stitching of his shirt Stryfe had meticulously sewn together. Knives dabbed his fingertips into the hole below his shoulder, slowly processing what had just occurred, and felt the skin encasing the bullet throb. His vacant eyes revealed nothing, but his mind and heart raced. 

Revenge. Vash deserved it! Grab the gun. They all did! Vermin, garbage, an insignificant species! The betrayal!

If his brother wouldn’t ever forgive—trust him—then why bother trying?

It was easier to cling to the familiar—the past—the grudge. He had lost track of what he was for too long. 

No… He couldn’t!

Knives eyed the gun on the floor and gripped onto his shoulder to prevent himself from seizing the weapon. He’d kill them. Who? The women? Vash? Revenge. He’d sever his brother’s other arm for this! He’d make him suffer! Knives forced the acidic taste down his throat as it ascended to his tongue. He felt helpless and flashbacks to him screaming in agony after his thigh had been shot tormented him, reminding him of his brother’s first betrayal—the first of many to come. 

Vash’s determined expression gradually turned into a pained one. “K-Kni...Knives…” Vash dropped his gun and hesitantly reached for his brother. 

Knives only watched Vash briefly as he scanned everything else surrounding him. Vash was still present after shooting him, but he deserved to pay—yes! No! Knives continued to debate with himself, but when a gentle hand grasped onto his clean shoulder, he jerked back, eyes wide and enraged, his lower arm swinging as he nearly fell over. 

“Don’t. Touch. Me.” Knives could feel his previous wounds ache, but they had healed years ago. 

Vash wanted to trust him, but how could Knives trust him? 

They weren’t ready. Maybe in another hundred years when he sorted these conflicting emotions or buried them, he’d find Vash again. Would Knives choose to develop a plan, gather another militia, kill the insurance women if they were alive by the time he left the ship, destroy this city, or kill his br—”

No. He didn’t want to flee, but Knives knew if he didn’t, he’d reclaim the gun and shoot Vash—annihilate the city. 

Knives stepped backward, struggling to keep his balance as he developed his new plan. At the beginning of his life on the planet, he had despised being alone, but he had buried the emotions caused by the damaging emptiness during the years he isolated himself. He knew how to ignore it, but it would take time again to return to that state of mind. 

“Knives, please let me help you. I—”

“You’ve done enough.” He schooled his voice as he backed into the front door with a trail of blood following him. “If you follow me, I’ll kill them.”

Vash halted and forced his body to stop. “W-who?”

“Would it matter which human?” Knives felt his back press against the door. “I’ll kill them.”

“No, you won’t. Not after everything. I won’t let you.”

“Then you’ll kill me.” Knives opened the door, and before Vash could respond, he stormed into the crowd of people preparing to celebrate the beginning of the new year. 

What had he done?

Vash watched Knives gradually disappear within the crowd of people. He remained in front of their house, and when he finally found the strength to move, Knives’ pale, blond hair was swallowed by the sea of browns and blacks as people traveled across the city. 

_‘Knives! Damn it!’_ Vash shouted as he ran toward where he last spotted his brother. _‘Don’t go, please!’_ His attempts to reach his twin through telepathy were futile. Vash was more adept at his abilities now, but even he couldn’t do half of the things Knives could, and, if he were being honest with himself, he would never want to. 

_‘Knives… please…’_

Vash wasn’t sure what to feel or believe when his sister had mentioned Knives’ unique weapon. When she shared Knives’ memories, Vash immediately ran to the house where the insurance girls lived and searched through the wall where Knives hid his silver gun, pieces from the old black Long Colt, and the skeleton of the one Vash gave him for Christmas. 

Could he forgive himself if he took Knives’ life? Vash was tempted to ask Rem after all these years, but this was something he had to decide for himself. 

Vash rushed into the crowd, swiftly and gracefully maneuvering around people and their supplies. He tried to feel for his brother, but Knives hid similarly to when Vash had searched for him for years.

He couldn’t lose Knives. Not now. 

Vash spotted Knives’ pale hair through the masses and doubled his efforts. Vash didn’t want his brother to know he was nearing him, so he kept his concerns hidden, using his fear to propel himself toward Knives. Unfortunately, even if Vash couldn’t feel Knives, the older twin could sense him. Knives glanced over his shoulder. Vash nearly tripped when Knives revealed his contorted face, and his expression reminded Vash of the brother who had nonchalantly sat on a desk covered with blood just before July City’s demise.

Knives could’ve done that again. Why was he running away? Hadn’t Knives mocked him for doing the same thing? His brother had always been a hypocrite. 

Vash’s boots slid across the desert sand when people got in his way. There wasn’t any room to circumvent each person, because when he parted from his thoughts, the crowd halted and stared at him. Everyone stood in place, bodies facing away from him and not, but their heads turned to watch him, eyes wide and some twisted in anger. Knives’ footsteps echoed and gradually dissipated while the people remained motionless. 

_‘Knives—’_ Vash prepared to demand why his brother controlled people after promising not to unless it was necessary, but he caught himself. He supposed it _was_ an emergency; Knives was shot and had to defend himself from the one responsible. 

Vash thought he had a reason to shoot Knives. Not only did his brother still believe in killing people, but he also threatened Meryl, and kept the guns hidden to—what, prepare? Now, Vash was reminded that Knives never needed the guns to harm people on a mass scale. His brother could’ve caused them to slaughter each other, overload a Plant, and so much more. Vash had always scrutinized Knives for using his telepathy, but he hadn’t witnessed the magnitude of what Knives could accomplish.

If Knives planned to do something against humanity, he’d do it.

Knives was trying to change, but Vash had disregarded his brother’s efforts. Now, everything was undone. 

Vash watched as helpless people readied their weapons, eyes unblinking and many began crying due to the lack of moisture. Vash had never tested the new submachine gun in his prosthetic, and even if he had, he wouldn’t risk firing into a crowd this dense. He’d dodge, and if they did fire, the people behind him would die. 

Knives was truly lost to him, wasn’t he?

People’s arms began to shake, and before Vash could adjust his stance, they lowered their weapons. Some raised them again only to drop them or aim elsewhere. Vash observed this display carefully and widened his eyes in realization. 

He needed to find his brother, now! 

Only, Vash couldn’t. After he found his way around the area, he lost track of Knives. He rushed through the city, asked the girls telepathically if Knives returned to the house, and reached out to his sisters in the crashed ship; they were asked not to reveal Knives’ whereabouts, and Vash begged them to, but they politely refused. The sister that told Vash of Knives’ weapon was informed of what happened and stubbornly stayed silent. 

Two hours passed, and there was still no sign of Knives. Vash returned home in case Knives threatened Meryl and Milly. When he reached the house, he banged on the door and sent a message to Meryl that it was him. Immediately, the door opened and she pulled him inside, slamming the door. 

“What the hell happened, Vash!?” Meryl demanded. “Why is Knives acting like this?!” 

“Mr. Vash,” Milly spoke as she diligently entered the room, “is Mr. Knives okay?”

Vash reluctantly shook his head. He turned to the books and pack Knives left in the living room and absently turned a few pages of a children’s book Milly wanted. “While you two were at work, I… I found the Long Colts Knives made to exterminate humanity.” Meryl looked down at her feet. Milly stared at him, shaking her head in disbelief. “He’s had them since months after Christmas last year. If he wanted to,” he met Meryl’s eyes, “he could’ve destroyed this city already. He could’ve forced people to shoot each other. He could’ve—”

“But he didn’t!” Milly shouted. “Knives isn’t that kind of person anymore!”

Vash’s face fell, defeated. “I’m not so sure about that. He’s… I don’t know. Conflicted? I don’t know… Damn it! It was a mistake!” Vash buried his face in his hands and slumped into the couch. He felt tears trail down his face before falling onto his palms. While he wept, he was startled by a pair of arms wrapping around him. He didn’t need to see who it was. 

“What do we do now?” Milly whispered as she stood beside the couch. 

Vash sniffled and raised his head when Meryl lightly shook him. A handkerchief hovered in front of him before he spotted the delicate hand carrying it. He followed the arm that led him to a concerned Meryl, who also began crying quietly. He accepted the cloth and used half of it to clean himself and offered Meryl the other half. 

“I don’t know… I can’t find him. If Knives doesn’t want to be found, there might not be a lot we can do.”

“Mr. Vash, you can’t give up now!”

“Vash!” 

The man jolted, and Meryl also jumped at the sound of a voice so close to her ear. The earring!

“E-Elizabeth,” Vash spoke while Meryl grasped his prosthetic. “Now’s not the time—”

“Your psychotic brother was here and demanded someone to fix his shoulder… He…”

Vash’s eyes hardened as he stood from the couch. “Did he hurt you?” he immediately asked. Why was Knives asking her if he could control people?

“No… I did it willingly. He left after I fastened a cast around his arm.” Vash sat back down.“You lied to me.”

Vash raised his head, eyes narrowed as he absently rubbed Meryl’s hand with his thumb. “About what?”

“... He told me he caused July, but he was acting—I don’t know. He forced you to use your power to destroy it—my life! Why didn’t you tell me?! He’s a monster!”

Meryl turned her head to give Vash a questioning look. He couldn’t find the words to respond. He furrowed his brows, eerily resembling his brother. “I’m sorry… You deserved to know, but it wasn’t entirely a lie. I never pleaded my innocence because I couldn’t remember, and I wasn’t sure if I was responsible or not. I pulled the trigger. I’m sorry.” Why would his brother reveal what he had done?

“Sorry isn’t good enough!”

“I-I know. Just saying things never is…”

“He’ll pay, Vash. I can’t—” Elizabeth’s voice cut off, indicating that she disconnected. 

Forgiveness, trust, apologies. Meaningless, really. Knives had proven himself through his actions, proved he could be trusted, and he had apologized somewhat and—

“Meryl,” Vash gave her a hollow smile, “I am an idiot.”

She offered her own. “Idiots can learn, Vash.” She released a humorless laugh while Milly giggled, but it lacked enthusiasm. 

Milly sat beside Vash, both girls on either side of him. Milly grabbed his other hand and squeezed. He returned the gesture and tightened his hold onto Meryl’s hand. He wasn’t alone. Knives wasn’t alone anymore either. He'd find his brother again if it’s the last thing he’d do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! It's been one shit year, I'll tell you what! This fanfic has kept me going and my friends' support also inspired me to continue writing through my darkest times this year with sicknesses and whatnot. I've been sick since late June this year, and as I continue to fight the good fight, I'm confident next year will be the year I'll win against my cancer. I hope this fanfic inspires people or does something for someone in some way. Kudos, hehe.


	5. Chapter 5: Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knives and Vash are at it again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is unrelated to the holidays and takes place before the Valentine's Day chapter. Thank you wyluliwerewolf as always for reading and editing!

Blood. A single drop trickled from an opening in the skin, and as it hung from the tip of a finger, a sudden hand motion flicked the drop elsewhere. It was then swallowed by the arid desert and dried without another droplet to accompany it. 

“Ow!" the man whined as he sucked on the digit to stanch the bleeding. He grimaced as sand granules from his hand became wedged between his teeth. 

“It’s just a small cut, Vash. Would you quiet down?” Meryl asked, glancing at Milly, who was retrieving a medical kit from one of her saddlebags. “You’re making the toma nervous.” 

Vash shrugged before covering the injured finger with the corner of his brown coat. “Sorry, hon. It just hurts...” 

“Here, Mr. Vash.” Milly tried to offer the kit while they all swayed in an undignified fashion on their toma. 

“Thanks!” Vash placed the medical kit on his lap, which was now jammed between him and Meryl on the saddle they shared. “Uh, maybe we can stop for a second?” He playfully poked Meryl’s side. 

Meryl scoffed. “Fat chance, we already did since _someone_ had to use the restroom, again. This area isn’t safe, Vash.” She slapped the toma with the reins, and the beast hastened his steps. Vash was distracted by Meryl’s voice and panicked when the bandage he was trying to apply was abruptly snatched by the winds. 

Vash tried again and managed to seal the cut with a bandage, then he glanced at the sharp piece of metal on the saddle and made a note to avoid it. He assessed where the nearest town was based on stray tire tracks and the position of the suns as they descended over the horizon. 

“You’re right, hon. We’re getting close. I want you two to reach town before sundown. It’s the nearest one’s toward the east.” 

“Nice of you to point toward the right direction before deserting us,” Meryl mumbled, past bitterness adding fuel to the fire that singed Vash’s heart. 

“Aw, c’mon, Meryl. You know it’s easy to lose you in a crowd.” 

“Excuse me?”

Vash fondly circled his arms around Meryl’s waist. He inhaled, breathing the remnants of her lavender shampoo. 

He hoped to see her again.

Vash was almost lulled to sleep when Meryl ordered the toma to slow. He, once again, reflected on the events that led to him being able to bask in the warmth from a loved one—a person he wouldn’t run from anymore. Even after all of these years he still feared including people in his life, but Meryl proved countless times that she could defend herself from the misguided residents of Gunsmoke. 

The years Vash had spent with the girls and Knives after subduing him passed slowly, which was such an odd feeling. He had traveled the world for decades, town to town, met unique people only to leave again and again—becoming a wandering spirit—and time was virtually meaningless, as tragic as that was for someone wanting to live with humans.

Vash loved his brother, who had suffered and grown into what Steve had called them: a monster. Although Vash valued the seemingly insignificant acts of kindness humans did for each other, he hadn’t appreciated his brother’s thoughtful gestures. Then again, that first decade alone with Knives was usually unbearable; Knives was family and they only had each other, but they rarely agreed on anything and argued tirelessly. 

It was his mistake to leave Knives, and after separating, his brother remained a monster, a beast that might have needed affection and acceptance to break the spell. Vash then grieved; maybe he should’ve tried harder or told Rem about the abuse when it began changing Knives the most. 

Both of them hadn’t told her for their own reasons.

“Vash,” Meryl whispered, and Vash noticed that he had been sobbing against her back. “You’re crushing me.”

“Ah, oops.” He pulled away and patted where his tears soaked into her shirt. 

“Something wrong, Mr. Vash?” Milly asked with a concerned look. 

“Milly, obviously!” Meryl snapped, but she sighed and mumbled an apology. “We’re trying to find his psychotic brother, and knowing Vash, he’s probably blaming himself in that broom head of his.”

Milly shook her head. “If Mr. Knives wanted to, he could’ve shot Vash and killed Elizabeth and everyone in the ship, but he didn’t, which means he still kept his promise, right, Mr. Vash?”

Vash groaned, leaning into Meryl’s back again, his forehead against a hard lump of her spine. “He broke the promise about not using telepathy on people needlessly... Well, I did hurt him, which I guess is technically an emergency, but, uh—”

“You’re hurting me again,” Meryl warned. 

“Ahh, sorry!” He forced his hands to clasp together instead of around Meryl. Silence lingered between them before Vash said, “We’re almost there. You remember our deal, right?”

“Just because you have a _superior intellect_ doesn’t mean we forget things like this easily, Vash.”

“You know I don’t think that way.” Vash pouted, crossing his arms. “Well, sometimes you forget not to be abusive to me,” he whined. 

“Well, Meryl,” Milly began as she commanded the toma to slow down. “Mr. Vash might not be so superior. After all, he always forgets to take out the trash when you ask.”

“Gah—so cruel! I usually have a lot on my mind, okay!”

“He just chooses to forget, Milly. He’s so lazy.” 

“This isn’t fair! Time out! Time out,” he pleaded, raising his hands in mock surrender. 

They laughed together, and Vash felt sentimental for the old times when Wolfwood was with them. Once the laugher quieted into faint giggles and eventually died, the silence was powered by the magnitude of the potential dangers in the near future. 

The shadows cast by the dunes stretched for meters and pointed to the leveled ground in the distance. The winds threatened to seize the map from Meryl’s grasp, and she nearly ripped through where her fingers burrowed into the paper. Vash had insisted on being their reliable map, but Meryl wasn’t having any of it and marked the locations where they had visited; they searched through two of Knives’ ships before reaching his personal ship in Dimitrihi.

Vash took a swig from his canteen and looked around, only to be greeted with sand. And sand. And more sand. Usually, whenever he traveled, he found ways to occupy himself with his thoughts or whatever memories of Rem he managed to evoke after July. Now, he listened to the conversations between the girls, and Milly began a story from one of the letters she had received about her big brother’s daring attempts to rescue a stranded toma in quicksand. 

Vash hastily hugged Meryl from behind, causing her to yelp, then jumped from the toma. Once his feet were firmly planted into the sand, his canteen settled over his abdomen. He uncapped it, took another drink, and gave a long sigh of satisfaction as the cold liquid moisturized his chapped lips and parched mouth. 

“Told ya we don’t need a map,” Vash said, striking a hero’s pose, hands at his waist. He sadly lamented as Milly joined him in observing the edges of the crater. The rest of the surface had long since been buried in the sand. “You ready?” he asked, placing a light hand on Milly’s shoulder. 

Milly sniffed and rubbed away her tears. “We’re ready, right, Mr. Vash? He meant a lot to you too. Maybe we’re ready to visit him!”

“That’d be nice. He was a strange kind of churchman…” Vash began walking toward the center of the crater alongside Milly. “That cross was part of his life. When I heard his voice when fighting Knives, he wanted me to use it. As I said, I don’t know if it was my imagination or not, but I'd like to think it was him helping me.”

“Sometimes I dream about family members that passed and they talk to me.”

Vash scanned the ground before meeting Milly’s eyes. “I... I could’ve done something for him. I didn’t think he was badly injured, but I was too focused on my mistakes to see if he was okay. I did the same thing after shooting Legato and it nearly got you two killed by the townspeople. He’d—” Vash jerked his head and tears trickled down his face. “Knives wanted this to happen. He…” 

A pair of arms encircled his waist, and as Vash buried his head in his hands, Meryl tightened her hold. 

Vash realized he had made a mistake when shooting Knives before the new year began. He wanted to fix things and was trying now by searching for Knives. Vash’s thoughts weren’t sometimes pleasant, but he often found himself reflecting on his life nonetheless. 

He couldn’t help it. What if he had smashed Knives’ head with that rock years ago? What if he had shot his head instead of his thigh? For years Vash saved people to honor the price Rem paid for Knives’ sins. Rem couldn’t have expected Knives to nearly doom humanity, but she wanted Vash to take care of him. Vash couldn’t kill him, so he tried instead to influence him to change.

Forgiveness… Knives was right in a way. Vash had numerous people backstab and betray him--countless times. Still, he forgave many people. He forgave Wolfwood long ago. Milly had said Wolfwood made his own choices, but if it wasn’t for Vash trying to convert people to follow his beliefs, Nicholas would’ve probably lived. 

Knives tried too, and Vash had shot him in return. Why did his brother say those things? Was it a test? Did Knives want Vash to give him a reason to choose a side—either to become who he had been or stay as a reforged man? Was it too late to help his brother? 

Was it too late to say sorry?

“Vash…” Meryl whispered into the back of his coat. 

“Gah, sorry. Just—” He wiped his face and gasped, looking determined after cleaning himself. He then turned to Milly while Meryl’s arms remained wrapped around him. “You think you’re now ready to see it again after all this time?”

Milly looked as determined as Vash. “Yep! Let’s find it and bring it home!” 

Vash stepped toward the exact location where he left the cross, and he briefly touched the Long Colts at his sides. He didn’t have to worry about finding them. At least the red coat was missing. 

“Here ya go, Mr. Vash,” Milly said, handing him one of their shovels. 

“Thanks,” he mouthed, staring at the sand that hid his friend’s weapon. 

“Two days,” Meryl groused to herself.

Vash plunged the shovel into the sand. “Yep.” 

“... What if your brother—”

Vash began shoveling before he paused and stared at the grains of sand stuck to the tool. “He won’t. I shouldn’t have hurt him, but he’s not like how he was almost a decade ago, and he’s even different from two years ago. Besides, I won’t let him get his way if…” He added more force while completing his task. “I won’t let him hurt anyone anymore if I have to. I…” His hands began trembling but he continued. “I’d have to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone again.”

“No one has the right to take the life of another…” Meryl echoed behind him. “Vash, if he threatened everything you care about, then…”

Vash thrust the shovel with his boot and scooped more sand, nearly flinging it at Meryl by accident. “Rem’s last words were to take care of Knives. Not ‘I love you two’ or anything like that. It’s like she knew that he needed me or… How can I take care of someone that kept hurting people?! Why would she—” Vash disciplined himself, then forced a smile only convincing to those who weren’t adept in spotting the false grins. “I could’ve helped him or done something different. We were both so stubborn as kids that even after fifteen years we hadn’t changed! He wasn’t right, but neither was I completely—I know that now. I—”

Vash’s eyes widened as he began jabbing the ground with the shovel. 

“What’s wrong?” Milly asked softly. 

“It’s not here.”

“Huh?” Meryl said. 

“There was a dust storm a few days ago. Maybe it—” Milly stopped that explanation.

“No. No. It’s not here!” Vash began randomly excavating areas where the cross might’ve been, but only unearthed sand. “Did someone take it? Knives found the guns after so many years, but the cross… It was buried!”

“Do you think he has it?” Meryl asked. 

Milly’s grip on her shovel tightened. “What would Mr. Knives want with it?”

Vash released a humorless laugh. “If you hurt him, he returns the favor by shooting your arm off. I fired the cross at him and won, so he’ll do something to it and hurt me and—” Vash bit his tongue. He couldn’t believe that about Knives anymore. He had to cling to hope. 

“What now, Mr. Vash?” Milly asked, unsure of what else to say.

“The deal is still on. You two’ll wait until two days, and if I don’t come back here by then, both of you go back to New Oregon.” Vash packed the shovel on the toma’s saddle and untied his traveling bag. He turned to Meryl, whose fixed expression dimmed immediately. “Please.”

“You really are expecting me to just wait around to see if you’ll come back, again!” 

“Meryl, you promised. You said you would stay far away enough, and did I disappoint you all those years ago? I came back, didn’t I?”

Meryl shook her head, then she smiled again, but her eyes remained worried. “You're so lazy.”

“Am not! I’ve been working with Doc, and I was with Elizabeth, too!” 

“Took you long enough to return with Knives.”

“Well, look how in the middle of nowhere this place is and he’s heavy!” He paused and looked down at the hole he dug. “He really was afraid of people.”

“He’s changed a lot, hasn’t he, Mr. Vash?” Milly asked, almost sounding rhetorical, as if the answer was obvious. 

Vash’s smile fell. “Maybe he’s changed for the worse now. It’s my fault.” He checked the chambers in his guns and inspected them one last time before slinging his traveling pack over his shoulder. “I gotta confront him again.”

“I wish you weren’t going in there alone…” Meryl muttered, pressing a fist against her chest, her eyes staring at Vash’s boots. “A deal’s a deal… I guess.”

“Good! Milly might be right; he might not be that kind of person anymore. There haven't been any rumors of towns disappearing nearby, and the Plants from New Oregon said they haven’t heard any bad news about him from other Plants.” 

“If Nicholas was here,” Milly began, looking solemn, “he would’ve helped you,”

“You would’ve let him, wouldn’t you?” Meryl asked with disdain.

Vash glanced where the Cross Punisher should’ve been. “I don’t know. He would’ve tried to even if I said no, and he probably would’ve gotten hurt or worse. You two almost did when Legato kidnapped you, and even if Wolfwood did survive, I doubt Legato would’ve let him live for long after that.” He ran a hand through his hair. “ _Don’t_ follow me.”

“We won’t,” Meryl stated, finally accepting the inevitable. 

“Mr. Vash, if you think Mr. Knives can be saved, then follow your heart and do what’s right.” Milly stuck her bottom lip out and gave one sharp nod. “That’s what my big sister used to say.” 

Vash stared at his clothed chest where his gate was embedded in his skin, caging his heart even if it were freed. It ached as he reflected on what he had done, the blood trickling down Knives’ arm, soaking the shirt Meryl gave him, and the look of disbelief, denial, and then rage that contorted Knives’ face. His brother, once a young boy, innocent and precocious, evolved into a ruthless stranger. Would Vash meet the face of a stranger again?

“Yeah, I’ve been following it, and sometimes it leads me in the wrong direction.” He stared into the distance toward the ship iles away. “It sometimes leads me to the right one.” 

Vash smiled when a small, tenacious hand demanded his own to hold onto it, and he did. Meryl squeezed his fingers, and Vash returned the gesture. Before he could separate from her, she managed to reach his lips, standing on her toes. He met her by leaning forward and returned the kiss, mouth slightly parted. He heard Milly giggle nearby, but she seemed far away while he was absorbed in the embrace. He couldn’t resist his own chuckles when they parted for air. He then drew her into a hug, feeling guilty for having to leave. 

Vash waved at the girls and the toma before turning toward the vast desert before him. All he had to do was concentrate on his steps, one, two, three, four… He then drank from his canteen, savoring the sensations. He’d miss his life if he’d lose to Knives, but something within him said not to worry. Knives had never wanted him dead, even after July. Vash had always felt conflicted about his motivations for finding his brother. His resolve to act eventually wavered after reflecting on the desires he had often denied for decades.

Kill Knives. Would he be able to live with the consequences? Could Knives? Did they really have the ability to kill the other and cope with it for the rest of their seemingly immortal lives? 

No. Vash wouldn’t be able to live with himself. Even before the Great Fall, he reflected once again on how he treated Knives and wished he had done better—wished they both did. Knives didn’t make sense to him, but now Vash understood his logic because it wasn’t an easy choice to save the spider and butterfly. Knives had acted while Vash avoided making the hard choices. What was another solution? Was there any? 

Despite the occasional dark thought, the overall trip to the ship was pleasant. He distracted himself by focusing on his surroundings rather than “what ifs” related to his brother. Even the sweat accumulating over his brows, trickling down his temple, following the line of his jaw to his chin was a welcoming distraction. He thought about retrieving his music player and earpieces but decided against it. 

Knives had explained the ships’ locations by sending detailed images through telepathy; he wanted Vash to know in case of an emergency. There were a total of six ships across Gunsmoke Knives had claimed, and they were programmed to combat against potential threats, such as scavengers and humans in general. Since the SEEDS ship models were all similar, Knives had long ago altered them to become less predictable compared to the majority of the surviving vessels. The Pequod—the ship Knives favored and occasionally visited by himself throughout the years—was his main home. Vash always wondered why Knives allowed them to enter the other ships but not that one. Legato and a few others knew the existence of the Pequod, and Knives had spent decades recovering in there after July, but other than that, Vash knew nothing of what was in store. 

The suns were setting by the time Vash located the rock formation surrounded by a sea of sand; an isolated island was perfect for someone like his brother. Vash noticed stray toma and tire tracks scattered throughout the area, and when he approached the edge of the rock outcrop, he noticed visitors had once made camp within it and outside. Vash was left to wonder how the remnants of a SEEDs ship managed to snuggle cozily within the rock formation. 

Vash continued to circle around the area until he located a particular section of the wall. The tracks in front of the entrance were fresh, but the sand was gradually erasing their existence. He shifted the traveling bag over his shoulder as he arched forward to examine a particular area on the rocky wall. He trailed his fingers until he pressed on certain protruding rocks lodged into the surface. Towering doors split open the entrance to the path that led to the ship.

No wonder his brother worsened after enduring decades of isolation in a place like this. 

Vash shifted the strap of the traveling bag, feeling uneasy as he proceeded to wander through the narrow entrance within the rock formations that towered above him. Eventually, the path widened, and soon he discovered that he had been given directions to one of the many entrances to the bridge that reached the ship. 

An opening between the tip of the Pequod and the rock formation allowed limited light to enter from above. The fog overhead and below the bridge was dense and blanketed the unknown and the known around Vash. The silence was eerie, and the occasional footstep or screech of birds that resided in the cave didn’t sit well in his stomach. Although he had wandered for the majority of his life, he had never been more uncomfortable anywhere else. Sure, he had experienced unnerving situations, but no other locations had ever bothered him as much as his current one did. 

When the ships entered the planet’s atmosphere, many of their outer shells disintegrated from the heat, leaving the inner walls of the vessels behind. Dozens of long, protruding hallways stuck out from the Pequod at all possible angles, and he recognized that the ship itself resembled a heart and the hallways that led to nowhere were the severed veins of a once beating ship. 

Knives must have turned off the security features, because if he hadn’t, Vash would’ve fallen from the bridge. Eventually, he reached one of many entrances and ascended the staircase, entered a few long codes to open doors, and continued on.

He hoped it was smooth sailing from here. 

The smells of the metallic walls and ancient oils surfaced nostalgic memories of when he and Knives had enjoyed living in blissful ignorance, strolling through the hallways as children, but now everything seemed needlessly complex and twisted due to Knives’ modifications. If Knives hadn’t once sent him a detailed map of this place, he would’ve lost himself, swallowed by the thick darkness, suffocating. 

Vash sauntered across a hall toward his brother; Knives had, at last, revealed his position. Once Vash bypassed the unfamiliar hallways, he eventually found himself in a particular area that reminded him of home, playing with Rem, listening to her words, believing in her, loving her. While he reminisced on fond memories, did Knives cling to the ones that led him to cause the Fall? Was that why he lived in a ship—to remember and never forget? Could Knives still feel the punches tenderizing his skin, the merciless kicks that left swelling bruises, and heard the echoes of dehumanizing words that reminded him of how different he was—how different they were? 

Vash now discerned that everyone had rejected Knives. Vash clung to Rem and her beliefs while stubbornly shouting that his brother didn’t make sense with his. The explanations for Knives’ atrocities didn’t excuse him of his actions, but Vash was trying to learn from the past to avoid making the same mistakes. 

Knives was close. Vash was in front of the door to the ship’s recreation room. He stared at the keypad for a moment while debating if he should reach out to Knives now. The door would prevent Vash from having to confront his mistakes and potentially protect him from Knives’ assault. Then again, Vash was tired of voiding things in life he should’ve confronted long ago. 

Vash pressed a button on the keypad and a gust of wind rushed around him, making him feel exposed. The door slid open instantly, and he debated on clicking the button again to close it. He tightened his hand into a fist, forced it to hang stiffly at his side, and, finally, purposely strode through the door. 

Vash abruptly halted, overlooking the sudden jolt of his body from the wasted momentum in his steps. He was blinded, not by the artificial sun beaming down on everything, but by the beauty of the room. The droplets of water clinging to the blades of grass shined and resembled twinkling stars beneath him, and when he took another step, his boots began squeaking. Fluttering shadows from leaves danced a few meters away, and clinging to the thin arms of a single tree were ripe red apples. Beyond the tree was a cliff that towered over the landscape below and to the left, it sloped down to allow easy access to the field. 

Vash recognized his brother’s broad shoulders protruding from each side of the tree, his pale hair swaying steadily alongside the leaves above him. He was standing, arms crossed, and when he slightly shifted his body, Vash heard the familiar pulling noises of the red SEEDs uniform. 

Vash exhaled gradually to quiet his heart. Even if he didn’t want to, he positioned his hands in case he had to draw his weapons. He pondered on sending Knives a telepathic message since he usually communicated with Vash whenever he wanted to talk about something personal, but there wasn’t a need to. And besides, Vash wanted Knives to hear what he had to say aloud. 

“Knives,” he spoke almost inaudibly that if he had talked during the slight gust of wind, the shaking leaves would’ve discoursed over him. 

The silence stretched on. Vash had the words he planned to say memorized, but now that he was here, he faltered.

“Remember…” Vash began, watching the parts of Knives he could observe from behind the tree. There was no physical indication that Knives took regard to his presence. “Remember when I said not to give me a reason to shoot you? You didn’t. What I did was wrong.” Vash watched his brother’s head, but its position didn’t change. “The things you said… You know Meryl and Milly mean a lot to me, and Rem…” 

Vash kept his eyes on Knives, but he focused on what his brother had said weeks ago.

_You favored Rem even though she abandoned us for them! It’s always them!_

“You took Rem from me. Back then I did choose her, because if one good person could sacrifice herself for others to survive, then there must be people like her worth fighting for.” Vash took careful steps toward Knives, and if he didn’t have to keep his guard up, he would’ve savored the crunching of the grass with each step. “I did pick the people even if I didn’t intend to choose sides, I still did. 

“Now, things are different. We both made mistakes, but what you did… It’s hard to forgive you, but I should’ve appreciated that you’ve been trying. I shouldn’t have shot you. You shouldn’t have said that you’d kill them because I believe in you and us to be better.” Vash perked up a bit, with a smile that flashed teeth and shined brighter than the lighting in the room. “Now, c’mon, why don’t we get together and have a good time? Maybe with beer, aaahahaha!” He jerked his head back and his smile broadened as he laughed. He then took a step and saw the side of Knives’ face. 

As Vash approached, he paused and saw that Knives was staring at something. Vash’s chuckles died down, his steps became hesitant, as his brother’s white-gloved hand came into view. Vash’s vision followed the creature climbing on Knives’ motionless, arched fingers. 

It was a spider. 

Vash could hear the slight pitch of Knives’ inhales. He was so close, but why did he feel so far away? Vash came up beside him and saw that Knives looked exhausted, with darkened skin around his eyes and thin wrinkles.

Vash set his hand on Knives’ shoulder; his body didn’t flinch or stiffen at the contact. 

The silence was concerning, but Vash was ascertained to break it again if he had to. He’d wait until Knives was ready to acknowledge him. 

Eventually, Knives nonchalantly glanced over his shoulder, eyes seemingly vacant of all emotion--all except one. Vash was paralyzed by the intense hatred he recognized within them. 

The bark cracked, splinters flew and hid within the grass. Apples fell and thumped when they landed. The wind died abruptly. The surface of the trunk parted, creating a gaping gash where a blade had penetrated the tree. Red liquid trickled between the crevasses of the bark. Bones began splitting, threatening to fracture under the strain. Such a precise strike rendered Vash’s right arm useless. The left, aiming the black gun at Knives’ head, trembled. 

A fixed hunting knife sliced into Vash’s right shoulder, fracturing the bones. Vash clenched his teeth as Knives began turning the knife by the handle, widening the gash that sheathed the blade. Knives then palmed the pommel while the other hand tightly gripped onto the handle. Inches separated the twins’ noses as they stared at each other. One was mortified and torn, while the other looked deadpan, cold eyes detached from the reality before him.

Knives, while holding the blade in place, managed to unholster Vash’s silver gun from his side. Unable to use his other arm, Vash couldn’t prevent his brother from disarming him. He felt his own finger squeeze the trigger of the black gun while it was aimed at Knives. Vash squealed in pain at the thought of the consequences of what he was about to do. 

“Please don’t do this…” Vash hissed through gritted teeth, then his voice grew stronger. “No. I’m the one you’re mad at. Take it out on me.”

Vash cracked open his eyes and they widened at the sight of Knives’ impassive face. It was nothing like the impudent, collected demeanor his brother had during July and their confrontation years ago; nothing signified that Knives felt superior or was mockingly scrutinizing him. Nothing. Did Knives want this? Did he want Vash to shoot him again?

Knives had wanted Vash to trust him, but how could he trust Knives now? This was—

Vash glanced at the gun in his hand while Knives raised the silver one to Vash’s temple, eyes never averting from Vash’s anguished ones. 

Trust. His body and mind rejected the idea, but Milly did say he should try to follow his heart. 

Vash closed his eyes again. He tipped his head back against the tree, dropping the gun. He gradually lowered his hand with the submachine gun. He knew by surrendering he was risking his life, but Knives had never wanted him to die—to suffer, but never to die.

He had to show Knives that he wouldn’t shoot. 

It seemed he had to prove himself, too.

Before Vash could meet Knives’ eyes, the knife slid out of his shoulder, drawn from his skin. Knives’ fisted Vash’s shirt and flung him to the side before veering away, leaving Vash to watch his retreating back and the stiff arm holding the guns in one hand and bloodied knife in the other. 

“Knives!” Vash shouted as he gracelessly rose to his feet, clenching his red shoulder. 

Vash had been shot countless times, but he had never tasted his own medicine quite like this. Knives holstered the black gun and shot Vash’s thigh with the silver weapon. The skin tingled and throbbed, and Vash slightly flinched at the pain. When he took a step and shifted his weight onto the injured leg, he lost control and had to brace himself against the tree. It was a perfect shot that made it impossible to distribute his weight to keep his balance. Knives continued to trudge away and closed the door to the recreation room. 

Knives had taught Vash about their extraordinary regenerative talent Knives had learned himself after they parted, but Vash had rarely ever utilized the ability for the majority of his life. Unfortunately, with only one gate, it still took a while for Vash to heal wounds. Even if he and Knives could transfer energy from their gates to heal each other, like when Vash was shot last Christmas, bones were a trickier injury to mend for someone as unskilled as he. 

The prosthetic had always come in handy whenever his body was fatigued or damaged since it didn’t tire. Using a few branches, pieces of the coat Vash tore into wide strips, he managed to tuck his arm into a makeshift cast after tightening a few cloths to stop the bleeding. He tried to fix his thigh, but Knives had shot him from a distance that lodged the bullet in it, fracturing a few bones. Using a long branch as a cane after making another cast for his leg, he managed to reach the door, feeling like one of those war soldiers from Earth he’d seen pictures of as a kid.

Vash assumed the door was locked, but he wanted to make sure. It was. What about the others? There should’ve been a few other doors, but each one he investigated was locked. He was trapped in one of the most pleasant places he has ever visited.

Vash could still escape… Why did Knives imprison him? If Knives really planned to use their Long Colts, everyone was in danger. But he could’ve caused as much destruction on his own.

Clearly, Knives was going through something. 

Vash had made a deal with the girls, and if he didn’t return in two days, they’d leave, thinking something happened to him. He didn’t want to worry them, but if he left now, he might have made things worse. 

He’d wait for Knives. 

The scenery really resembled some of the old mythologies about the garden of Eden, and Knives’ small garden back in New Oregon paled in comparison. The crops in the recreation room were vast and varied, unlike Knives’ other ships Vash had visited, which were mostly empty fields of grass with an occasional tree. Here, this was definitely Knives’ home. Vash occupied a lot of his time eating pomegranate seeds under the apple tree; it was a lot of work for one arm, but it was his prosthetic. 

Occasionally he’d talk with the Plants on the ship and discuss the enigma that was his brother. Knives had killed so many of their kind, and he hadn’t always valued the conditions of most Plants, yet he made sure the ones on his ships lived more comfortably than most others. They loved him for it, forgave him, and trusted him. Vash felt a pang of remorse. 

Even his sisters had forgiven Knives years ago. 

Was it unreasonable for him not to? Meryl would probably smack him for thinking that, but he wasn’t entirely innocent either. 

Knives killed so many people—millions. Rem... He killed those that Vash cherished, abused him, but Knives hadn’t always been a heartless killer either. 

He waited for Knives, and when two days passed, he occupied himself with his morbid thoughts or took pleasant walks around the room. He roamed through one of Knives’ gardens and was mindful not to soak his socks in the small lake or the running river that stretched across the terrain. He was still amazed that fish swam here, even after all of these years. 

“‘The will to survive’, huh, Rem?” Vash whispered to himself as he stood beside the lake. 

Vash craned his head toward one of the entrances to his right. Moments later, Vash realized only the door separated him from his brother. It was only for a brief moment, but Vash now knew Knives was hesitant about confronting him too. 

The door slid open, and blocking the exit was Knives in his SEEDs jumpsuit. Vash analyzed his brother warily, eyes falling and rising as he noticed the brief unconscious mannerisms Knives’ body displayed, betraying him; for Knives, what he didn’t allow to be shown was just as telling. The light wrinkles between his usual smooth brows, more pronounced ones around his eyes, and the faintest spark of fire over his sky-blue eyes, like a neglected oil spill, were all obvious signs. 

Vash steadied himself to sit beside the water, set his makeshift cane aside, and scooped some stones and sticks to precisely aim at vacant waters of the river. He threw pebbles to direct fish across the small lake and watched them swim. A shadow was cast from Vash’s right, and he tossed his last pebble. 

Knives loomed over him. Vash raised his head and greeted him with a sheepish smile.

“You’re still mad at me, huh?” 

Silence. Vash squinted as he straightened his back the best he could with a wounded shoulder. As he was about to grasp another stone, he jolted, grabbing his head with trembling hands.

He had never felt so much hatred before. Was this what Knives experienced when Vash had shot and abandoned him over a century ago? 

The pain began subsiding. The intensity of the emotion left Vash gasping for air, and it would’ve burned him if Knives hadn’t suppressed the emotion again. He looked at Knives despite the light blinding him and grinned again. 

That did it. 

Vash watched the shoulders of his brother’s silhouette slump forward. Crossing his arms, Knives continued to glare down, irked by the broadening smile Vash presented. Knives’ clenched fist braced against his sides stiffly, and Vash was reminded of the times Meryl once prepared to throttle him. 

“What do you want, Vash?” Knives’ voice sounded off. It was an inhospitable voice from a forbidding person, but Vash heard weariness as well. 

Vash rubbed the back of his neck. “To say I’m sorry.” He dropped his arm at the sight of Knives’ eye twitch and the sharp intake of breath. “No! I mean it! What could I do to prove it?” Vash tried to stand, one leg firmly positioned to support his weight while his prosthetic arm pushed into the ground in an effort to balance himself. 

“How to prove it,” Knives began with a forced ingratiating smile. “You can join me in exterminating the vermin, freeing our sisters, and creating Eden.” 

Vash’s shoulder slumped as he regarded the heavy sarcasm dripping from Knives’ voice, but he instantly perked up, awkwardly chuckling. 

“What would you do?” Knives asked with a flat voice, without a smile and eyes half-closed. 

“Er… prove myself, I guess.” Vash shrugged. “I want to forgive you, and, yeah, maybe you did earn it. It’s just a lot, okay. I need time; I need a lot of it.” 

“Then prove it,” Knives challenged. “I’ve kept my promise for years. It’s only _fair_ to keep one yourself.” 

“You controlled those people… You used telepathy…”

The creases between Knives’ brows deepened. “You shot me!”

“I know…”

“You’re a superior being. Your words should have more merit than a human’s.” Vash attempted to retort, but the flash of anger he witnessed made him reconsider. Knives lowered his crossed arms to dangle at his sides. “Give me your word. You’ll never harm me again.” 

Vash stammered then contemplated making such a promise. Knives wouldn’t kill people (even if he easily could), and he had the weapons that could activate the Angel Arms. Knives could hurt people--severely. What if one day he snapped? Well, then Vash would have to break his promise too. 

_Vash, take care of Knives!_

He would. He’d try again. 

Vash met Knives’ eyes, and if he were anyone else, he would’ve had to look away, but he was used to Knives’ icy glares. He nodded, and when Knives narrowed his eyes, Vash beamed. “I promise not to hurt you again as long as you keep yours. We both will, won’t we?”

Knives blinked, face unreadable. “You won’t shoot me again.”

“What?” Vash whined. 

“It’s only fair since I’ve promised to restrict myself from using telepathy all the time; it’s for the comfort of your _precious_ humans after all.”

Vash rolled his eyes. “Okay, but if you—”

“As long as I remain a Plant, my words will never lose their value.”

“Okay, okay oh _superior_ one.” Vash reached his brother and clapped him on the back. “When we get back—”

“When you do.”

Vash paused. “You’re not coming back?”

“No.” 

“B-But why?”

Knives had been making direct eye contact with Vash, but when he asked, Knives dropped his eyes and turned away. “I returned to my ship because I wanted to manage my anger… There’s only so much I can do to discipline myself to control it in New Oregon.” He glanced at Vash’s wounds. _‘I’m sorry.’_

Vash chuckled and said softly, “Me too. I guess I interrupted your…”

Knives rolled his eyes. “I was trying to enjoy my afternoon with meditation until I felt you nearby. I spent weeks attempting to expunge the anger I felt knowing I could do something… drastic.”

Vash knew that too well. He suppressed the urge to touch his prosthetic arm.

“Oh, I know what that’s like!” Vash shouted, distracting Knives as he stared at Vash’s prosthetic. “I’ve done something drastic, too! I once ran out of bullets and instead of buying some, I couldn’t resist spending everything on a few dozen donuts for me and the local kids! Then I tried to stop a heist with the donuts… Do you know how hard that was?!”

Knives scoffed, but Vash managed to catch the briefest of grins. Knives turned away and gestured for Vash to follow. He did. 

Eventually, they reached a place where Vash would spend his time sleeping. The infirmary held supplies and tools Vash hadn’t seen since before the Great Fall, and while Knives prepared for the surgery, Vash reassured him that he could handle Knives removing the bullet from his thigh without anesthesia. Knives argued otherwise. He’d prefer Vash asleep to avoid triggering an irrational, emotional outburst while digging for a bullet or mending appendages. Vash obliged, feeling the drugs take effect, and he knew Knives was aware that drugs didn’t last for long for either of them. 

Vash awakened twenty minutes later, and when he examined the areas Knives healed, he was amazed by the precision and effort that went into his care in a short amount of time. After Knives had disinfected the wounds and removed the bullet—a task he was probably familiar with from being shot in the thigh himself—he cleaned the mess. A single drop of sweat that trickled down his forehead and disappeared in his eyebrow was the only physical evidence of his efforts. 

Vash jumped off the table, rotated his shoulder, and felt the new muscles and skin stretch and slacken. He did the same with his thigh and pleasantly exhaled.

“Thanks!” Vash paused, then faced Knives. “You’re gonna stay?”

Knives nodded once, slowly, as if his mind were occupied with something else. 

“Do you know for how long? Will you ever come back?”

Knives shrugged. “Probably.”

“I…” Vash sighed. “I can stay for a while if you don’t wanna be alone.” 

Knives quirked a brow. “I left to be alone, Vash. Honestly, your presence will only irritate me, and I’d rather not destroy my ship.” 

Vash really didn’t know what to do. For one, Knives had worsened when Vash left him the first time over a century ago, and Knives had secluded himself in places like the Plant ship and the Pequod. But if he didn’t leave, Knives might snap at him before he could manage his anger.

If Knives could understand that he needed time, then Vash would have to respect his wishes. However…

“Knives,” Vash began, staring at Knives intently, “what will you do with the guns? Can you give them back?”

His brother snarled, then breathed, deep enough for the echo to be heard. “They’re mine. I designed them, you abandoned them, and now they’re with me.” 

“What… What will you do with them?” 

“As if you'd let me use them without whining about it.” Knives neared the entrance to the room. He glanced over his shoulder with a doubtful smile. “I suppose you’ll have to trust me. Unless you don’t and never will.” 

Vash’s face contorted with shame, but once he gathered his thoughts, he nodded in acceptance.

They both had promises to keep. 

“Alright, I guess I’ll see you around.” Not knowing what else to do, Vash fastened his traveling bag over his shoulder and followed Knives. 

“Farewell, dear brother.” Knives parted from Vash when they reached a corridor that led to one of the Pequod’s exits. 

“Wait, Knives!” Vash suddenly yelled, which caused Knives to halt. “Could you contact Doc to tell Meryl and Milly? Ya know, send them a message to one of the ship’s computers? I won’t be coming home for a little while; I wanna visit a few people before going back.”

“With how I departed, I doubt they’d believe anything I’d write to them.”

Vash tapped his chin in thought. “You’re right. Hm… Oh! For Meryl, say that I can’t wait to come home and look through a donut’s hole. She’ll know that it’s me for sure.”

Knives continued to face away from Vash. “Fine.”

Vash watched his brother’s back until Knives turned a corner and disappeared, the echo from his footsteps gradually dissipating. Vash _really_ didn’t want to leave Knives in this ship by himself, and when he contacted his sisters, he urged them to double their efforts in keeping him company. 

The walk on the bridge was a little more bearable, but there was still a lingering emptiness within Vash. He wouldn’t bring his brother home, but at least he knew Knives wouldn’t hurt anyone. With that in mind, despite his mind opposing to the thought, he’d part from Knives until he was ready to come home. 

Vash made his way through the narrow path, studying the rugged terrain for a final time. When his boots stepped on sand, he took in his surroundings, savoring the natural light compared to the ones within Knives’ ship. 

He inhaled, raising his arms in the air to mimic his spiked hair, threw his head back, and as he began exhaling—

“Nyaaa!”

Vash almost gagged on his saliva at the interruption. 

“Nyaaaaa!”

He slowly turned his head beside the entrance behind him, and in his peripheral vision, he spotted a black mass perched on some stones. He widened his eyes. He had seen this one before. It couldn’t be the same one, could it? 

Knives’ black cat. 

“Hey there, little… guy? Girl.” Vash knelt down and offered a hand for her to sniff. 

She had to be a different cat. Right? They were too far from New Oregon. 

Then, Vash had an idea. 

It took some of Vash’s salmon spread he had packed to lure the cat inside the ship. He enticed the cat to follow with the occasional dropped piece of salmon, and when they reached the grand doors where he felt his brother on the other side, Vash palmed it open and scooped the calm cat into his arms. 

Unfortunately, Vash didn’t realize the room he was about to enter was designed to confine noises from within. 

Instantly, music washed over them, startling the cat. Vash hadn’t listened to music like this in over a century, and for a moment he was jealous of his brother for having access to such a relic that produced the sounds. The whole room was twice the size of the recreation room with pipes lining the walls and towering over him. The pipes aligned themselves to resemble small castles, and Vash knew there were other hidden chambers within for dozens of other pipes out of sight. The room itself lacked furniture, except for the whole instrument and the cushioned bench at the far side of the room. Vash had only seen pictures and videos of what a pipe organ looked like and had never witnessed anyone play one in person. 

The tempo was perfect, thunderous yet calm, like an approaching thunderstorm, as Knives’ fingers gracefully flowed from one key to the next. Four long rows of manuals accompanied the rows of stop knobs on each side. Not only did the sounds of the organ send chills throughout Vash, Knives fully utilized the resonance with each pause; every action he made was purposeful and passionate, and the vibrations would’ve hypnotized anyone into a trance. The organ itself was an advanced model, capable of self-maintenance; it looked to be meticulously crafted from wood, and it was a replica of what traditional churches had on Earth. 

Knives executed the piece as it should’ve been played—without ego, without an urge to prove himself, with passion and care. 

Vash realized that Knives had said a lot about himself without having to say a single word. 

The cat quieted in Vash’s arms as he approached his brother. Knives wasn’t finished, but instead of abruptly halting, he pressed down on the last keys before allowing the echo to pass, concluding his performance. He opened his eyes, hands resting on his lap, and regarded Vash’s presence before glancing down at the disturbed cat. 

Vash smirked when Knives lifted his brows in recognition. He then narrowed his eyes, seemingly annoyed. 

“I guess she followed me!” Vash encircled his hands around the cat’s underarms and presented her to Knives as if she were a prize from a carnival. He then set her down on the floor.

“Nya…” The cat approached Knives’ legs. 

“See, isn’t she cute?” Vash cooed, hands clasped together over his chest, head cocked to the side as he watched the cat rub her head against Knives’ leg. 

Knives stared at the cat, and as she arched forward to jump onto the manuals, he gently placed her on his lap. Her wide green eyes watched him adjust a few switches and followed his fingers as he began performing a simple melody. Her eyes darkened and she twitched her head as if Knives’ hands were a dancing birds. 

“I had no idea you had this stuff,” Vash spoke during a moment when the noise lingered and keys were left untouched. 

Knives looked at him before returning his attention to his fingers and the cat. Vash gawked in awe at the faint smile Knives tried to hide when the cat stretched for a key. He pressed the final ones before straightening his posture. 

“This ship holds humanity’s history; it’s the only one of its kind that survived. The crashed ship in New Oregon cannot compare to the data stored here. Not only do I have humanity’s records, but I also safeguard vast encyclopedias of information dating from their earliest years on Earth. I uncovered a few files related to Plants, how they operate, and the experiments humans conducted to understand them. It took years to decrypt some of them.” He began stroking the cat, and even though he didn’t express it, Vash could see the glee in his eyes when the cat began purring. “Plants can achieve the impossible and produce anything if someone can comprehend how to program them to do so. For instance, a gravitational Plant keeps this ship in place, humans use certain ones for the steamers, they can meld—”

“Er… what?” Why was Knives suddenly talking about this? 

“Meld. In the earlier years when humans began housing them all together in a dome, they realized the Plants could meld together—they can conjoin and form a network of one consciousness. Humans feared they would overpower or alter their genetics to free themselves, so they began separating and imprisoning Plants in bulbs.” 

Vash didn’t know any of that. He and Knives had read about how a Plant worked when they were children, but Rem and the crew never revealed how Plants were created or their history. Why…?

“The crew never told or showed us this… Could we meld with them? Is that why they never told us?”

Knives shook his head. “If we could, I would’ve melded with them long ago. I’m unsure why, but I have my theories. We’re unable to activate our Angel Arms without the weapons, so our powers are somewhat limited. Perhaps there’s something else within the files I haven’t been able to acces yet. Maybe we’re still young for our new species and haven’t matured. I have always questioned why we were born, but that doesn’t matter compared to what I can achieve as a superior being.”

Vash uncomfortably fidgeted with the strap of his traveling bag. He couldn’t imagine what Knives would accomplish if he could meld with their sisters. Now, Vash wondered if Knives would care about their promises if he had such power. 

“Why mention this now after all this time?”

Knives stared ahead, pondering on something before he shrugged. “It wouldn’t matter to you now, but I’ve been thinking about what we could do.”

Vash didn’t like the implication in Knives’ words. “Would it be a good or bad thing?”

“Both.”

As Vash prepared to inquire about Knives’ motives, he stood abruptly, forcing the cat to jump down. 

“You should leave. Now.” Knives strode past him and the cat cried behind him. 

Vash was anxious about what Knives was planning, but he’d have to wait and find out. 

Vash looked back at the rock formation in the distance sometime later. Even though he was leaving Knives, it wasn’t anything like when he first fled from his brother. Vash smiled in the direction of the Pequod, then continued his journey. As he was fishing for his earbuds, a thought crossed his mind. He debated asking, but he had to know while he could still connect to Knives. 

A wave of fury nearly sent Vash toppling over a dune. ‘ _Knives?’_

 _‘What?’_ Knives spat. _‘I’m going to send the message.’_

 _‘Thanks, but that’s not what…’_ He ran a hand through his hair, eyes fixated on staring at the winds picking up sand. _‘Do you know what happened to Wolfwood’s cross?’_

_‘You shot me with it and abandoned it.’_

Vash rolled his eyes. _‘I mean recently. Was it there when you found the Long Colts?’_

_‘I didn’t care to look for it then.’_

_‘What about when you left? Did you go back to where we fought?’_

_‘Of course, Vash. Why don’t you search around my ship and find it? I’m sure your pet will be content with you spending more time here than necessary!’_

_‘Geesh, okay, okay! See you around!”_

Whenever Knives was ready to explain himself, Vash had to take care of some business beforethen. He glanced around to determine the direction toward December City and began to wander across the planet again after so many years. 

It took less time than ever to travel since Vash had money saved to purchase tickets for buses and sand steamers. When he reached the city, he entered to restock on supplies before leaving on foot. 

Paradise was a small town iles outside of December. Years ago when corruption ran rampant within the city, some of its citizens separated from it and created their own village. It thrived off the caravan that accompanied the sand steamers whenever they visited December. Unfortunately, the people in power within December resented those that parted and forced the villagers to pay a ridiculous tax, which left many having to leave the town or struggle. 

Wolfwood’s orphanage and church were not spared. 

As suns began rising over the horizon, Vash stood in front of the worn church connected to the orphanage behind it. It was constructed of cracked brick and mortar and seemed abandoned, but when Vash concentrated, he could hear people inside.

Vash might’ve been early, but at least the kids wouldn’t have cared about being interrupted—hopefully. 

Vash wasn't sure where to enter the building or whether to knock on the church door. He went around to the back and approached a door and knocked. The young voices he had overheard turned to cautious whispers. Vash waited. Waited… 

A door clicked before someone dubiously opened it. A narrow gap revealed a portion of a figure behind the door. 

“What do you want?!”

Vash rubbed the back of his head, flashing teeth in a joyous grin to ease the woman’s concerns. “Uh, Milly Thompson sent letters and… I’m Vash. Are you Melanie by any chance?”

The woman’s eyes widened as she wrenched open the door to reveal more of her round figure. “Vash the Stampede?! Really?!” She stepped outside, and Vash noticed the children behind her scattered. “Wolfwood always mentioned that he was dealing with ‘a real trouble maker’ in a few of his letters.”

Vash laughed nervously. “Gee, I’m not _that_ much of a hassle... anymore… Least Meryl says so.”

“Oh, yes, Miss Thompson mentioned her, too. Come in, come!” 

Vash moved into the first room and saw a few children run through doors. He remained near Melanie as she locked the front door. 

“Children, this is Vash… Vash… Do you still go by that name? There’ve been rumors of the Humanoid Typhoon being a free man.”

Vash shook his head. “You can call me Vash Stryfe.” Some of the kids stared at him in awe, and others seemed to be on their guard. 

“Ah, that’s good! Who’d believe me that the world’s once most wanted man often donates to my orphanage.” Her smile dropped, and she seemed solemn. “His orphanage…”

“I’m sorry we didn’t visit sooner.” _I’m not going to avoid facing my mistakes anymore._ Vash gave a weary smile. “Yeah. I’m just glad he’s back home.”

“If you hadn’t sent those cuff links with that first letter and donation, that wouldn’t have been possible. That bastard always wore them ever since I made the damn things.”

“Uh, I brought the kids some goodies!” Vash announced, and when he glanced up, he saw some children peer from the sides of several opened doors. “I hope you don’t mind the kids having these. I don’t wanna spoil anything you’ve made.”

“Nah, I woke up minutes ago.”

The kids squealed, their eyes were widening and reflective. Vash blinked, frozen by the predatory stares the kids had while watching him open the bags. Then, he braced himself when he presented some donuts and toys, and the children charged after him. He screamed a piercing shriek that even Wolfwood himself might have heard from the afterlife. Some children seized the goodies while others tackled Vash to the ground. He squealed and gagged when a little boy tightened his arms around his neck, choking him. 

“Okay, settle down now!” Melanie ordered, and while some of the children listened, like the one squeezing Vash, some of the older ones defied her. “Okay, I’m counting! Three. Two.”

The children paused, then calmed down and stood still. The ones who grabbed the donuts also placed the bags on the floor. 

Vash coughed and sat up on his elbows. “You sure taught them well.”

“Gotta, Mr. Stryfe. The kids don’t get that many valuable visitors. In fact, ever since receiving the donations, we got more people visiting the church for handouts—probably people who don’t need ‘em, but who am I to judge? Not me, sir. Nope.” She turned toward the children. “Now, you’ll share the gifts from this nice man, now won’t you?”

“Yes Miss Melanie,” many said in unison. 

“Hmm, now go on and have some fun, but be respectful.”

As the kids screeched and shouted for their share in the other rooms, Vash crossed his legs on the floor to catch his breath. 

“I’d offer you a seat, but I think I’ll wait until you’re done talking with him.” 

Vash averted his gaze from staring where the children disappeared through. “Huh? How’d you know?”

“Of course you'd visit him! Why wouldn’t I know?! I make the children visit him every day.”

Vash smiled as he searched through his traveling bag and pulled out a bottle of cheap whiskey and two glasses. 

“Would you like to stay for the day?”

Vash pondered on the generous offer. “I’m a bit tired, but I don’t wanna bother you...”

“Dear, I have twenty-five orphans—twenty-six if you’re about as childish as Wolfwood described.”

“Gah—he really talked about me like that?” He mocked hurt, quivering his lower lip. 

“He complained about a lotta things. To think the boy complained more about life to me than the Lord, probably.” She seemed lost in thought, and Vash didn’t dare to interrupt her. “He was always like that, you know. He was Father Wolfwood, but he truly was a father to his kids—children that waited for him to return. Some disappeared while others left to start their own lives. Mason, Alex, Livio, Bullet...They loved him a lot, you know?” She shrugged. “What can we do besides move on and learn from mistakes and the consequences of our choices?”

Vash stared at the bottle in his hand. Wolfwood loved the cheapest whiskey available, but he’d always go for the better stuff if he could. Vash could’ve done something to help him. He could’ve done a lot of things in his life differently, and although Meryl, and even Knives at times, told him that he shouldn’t blame himself for other people’s choices, he couldn’t help it. Rem sacrificed herself so people like Wolfwood would thrive to create a world where people could learn from their mistakes--with no stealing or killing.

Vash left the orphanage to circle around the building. He took a few turns to reach the corner wedged between the two buildings and gawked at the grave a few feet away. The stone itself wasn’t visible due to the plethora of gifts; cards, crudely drawn pictures, and even small trinkets were all gathered and still remained even after a windy day due to the postponing of the buildings. Vash read a few of the cards, and although most of the children were too young to have ever met Wolfwood, their kind words were still heart-wrenching. Vash moved some of the gifts and found the name Nicholas D. Wolfwood and when he died; the church-man was only around thirty years old… Vash was over a century older than him, and Wolfwood was wiser in many ways. 

Vash sat down, legs crossed, and set one of the glasses on the sand, pouring a shot for Wolfwood first before serving himself. He sat with the drink in one hand while the other absently drew in the sand. He really didn’t know what to say. Maybe this would be like those nights when he and Wolfwood would simply sit together and stare at a fire or the moons. Sometimes Vash would wear his glasses, and even now he had the urge to wear them. 

He wouldn’t hide. He wouldn’t run. 

Vash leaned forward to clink his glass with the one on the ground before downing his own. It slid down his throat smoother than butter after decades of drinking. Forgetting. Hiding. Avoiding. Abandoning. Running… 

“A lots changed.” Vash lapsed into silence. “The girls are doing okay.” He chuckled. “Meryl and I did end up together after all.” He could just imagine the smug grin and the teasing comments. “Sorry that we all haven’t visited you or retrieved your cross sooner. It’s gone, but since it’s so full of mercy, maybe whoever picked it up will use it for good.” Maybe someone would use it to kill. Maybe they wouldn't. 

“I’m sorry about what happened. I should’ve… I don’t know. I’ve met so many people, and no one was quite like you. You’d think I would’ve seen it all after being over a hundred years young.” He barked a quick chuckle. “Life’s strange and I took care of Knives. I’ll take care of the girls too, but knowing them, they won’t need it.” He filled their shot glasses. “To love and peace.” He knocked his head back. “Aaaaaah, tastes even better the second time!” 

Vash set the glass to the side and moved a few of the gifts. He went on his hands and knees and concentrated. His fingers dug into the sand, his chin tucked against his chest, and he squinted tightly. As he felt the familiar prickling sensation radiate from the gate within his left arm, it immediately began traveling downward, through his fingers and into the sand. He felt the familiar blades of green protruding from the sand. To keep the grass from dying, he forced a little more of his energy into making sure they’d survive at least for a while. When he noticed that a dandelion also sprouted over the grave, he decided to use the seeds to plant other dandelions for the children. He then rearranged the gifts and made the grave more presentable again.

When he returned inside, he was greeted by a few children with sprinkles and crumbs stuck to their mouths. Other children continued to play with the toys Vash brought, but when some noticed his return, they went to the front door to greet him. Melanie eventually appeared from the kitchen alongside a nun and other assistance from the church. 

“Thanks for letting me stay,” Vash smiled at the children. “It’s nice to feel appreciated.”

“Vash, why don’t you freshen up?” Melanie said as she wiped her hands with a towel. “We’re making food and brewing fresh coffee and hot cocoa for the children.” 

Vash nodded. “Excuse me ladies and gentlemen, but I gotta get through.” Some children didn’t move while others purposely blocked his path just to make his life even more difficult, but he didn’t mind; having to circumvent children wasn’t the hardest thing he’d ever done. 

Vash entered and the bathroom with his supplies. He stretched, arms far above his head and his hands nearly touched the ceiling. Joints popped and bones cracked as he rotated his shoulders. He undressed and walked past the mirror to completely immerse himself in the shower. 

He stepped out a few minutes later and toweled his hair before drying the rest of his torso. He ran a hand through his dried hair. He had been thinking about changing his hairstyle. He could let it grow. He could let it settle naturally. Rem had given him that cut, and similarly to Knives, he hadn’t changed it after all these years. Maybe he should change that? 

The mirror before him was misty from the hot water he used sparingly throughout the shower. He reached forward to wipe away the surface fog, then he began applying toothpaste to his toothbrush. He knew it didn’t make sense to brush before a meal, but he wanted to feel clean after traveling across the planet for a few days. 

Vash glanced at his reflection before the steam could cloud the mirror again. Blinking, he stared at where he had wiped the mirror, cocking his head to the side before leaning over the sink. 

Was this some sort of biological thing? Knives didn’t tell him this would happen. Did he know? 

Vash lifted a hand to tangle black strands around his fingers. The lock of black was eye-catching among the golden blond ones. He was clueless as to what happened, but even Knives didn’t know everything about their bodies. Shrugging, he looked around and found a pair of scissors out of reach of the children and snipped the hairs off. He rolled the strands between his fingers and felt how brittle and unhealthy they were.

It was probably nothing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably my favorite chapter so far! I wanted to post this earlier than I originally planned to celebrate my last few days of radiation for a while. 
> 
> I really wanted to bring some closure on what the hell happened to Wolfwood's orphanage in the anime since it was kind of forgotten. If you haven't read the Trigun manga, I'd recommend it if you can stomach the bullshit that sometimes happens and the convoluted shit in it... I love it anyway and even managed to collect the omnibus and volume sets. 
> 
> Hopefully, there aren't too many hiccups or confusing details... Please let me know if there's some continuity error or any criticism would be appreciated. 
> 
> The next chapter focuses on Meryl and Vash's relationship for Valentine's Day and it'll be my first attempt at writing a romantic relationship... Fluff... Don’t forget to kudos and comment <3


	6. Love and Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A closer look into Vash and Meryl’s relationship within the context of this fanfic. Happy Valentine’s Day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first attempt at writing a romantic relationship. I suppose I should warn you... It gets a bit steamy, but not totally NSFW. 
> 
> Thanks to Neon_Lights_Vash, URNotRedE97, and wyluliwerewolf for editing and supporting me through one of the most terrifying times of my life!

He knew pain. As people matured and died, he often watched them all from a distance and memorized their faces to the most minute detail. He witnessed families persevere through their struggles, then they would tear themselves apart. For the first fifteen years of his life, he fought his brother regarding the value of human life. He was used to arguing.

Vash stared at the opposite side of the dining room table, often glancing at Milly awkwardly sitting on the long side of it. He tightly gripped his napkin, ignoring the partially eaten breakfast between his arms on the table. Now, he had lost his appetite. He started when hurtful words suddenly crashed over him, like towering and aggressive waves slamming into him before he could regain his balance to prepare for the next. 

The fight began again. Vash was sure that a night’s sleep would’ve calmed Meryl and they’d laugh it off and cuddle in the morning. 

He was wrong. He was wrong about a lot of things. 

Vash slowly looked up from his breakfast to see Meryl’s face contorted with rage and anguish. Vash sat speechlessly and lowered his eyes again. Two of the three people he loved more than anything—his life even—hated him. Maybe not hate, but they sure held a lot of it in their hearts. He didn’t blame Meryl for how she felt. A part of Vash nagged that, yes, he was also responsible and not entirely innocent for the past. Was it wrong to trust Knives? Was it wrong to love those that, at times, maltreated him?

Meryl just didn’t understand why he couldn’t give up on Knives. When they’d compose themselves, Vash would try to reason with her.

Meryl slammed her fist on the table, shouted for the last time about Knives, gathered her things for work, and stormed out of the house. Her momentum disturbed the crafted origami hearts Vash and Milly had hung around the house for Valentine’s Day. When the silence lingered for longer than Vash and Milly were comfortable with, she wordlessly stood to clip the hearts that fell off to the strings.

“Mr. Vash,” Milly finally spoke while returning to her seat, “you know she only wants what’s best for you. When we separated to find Mr. Knives, she was really scared.”

Vash laughed, but without enthusiasm. “Yeah, what a guy I am, huh?” 

Milly shook her head. “We don’t like to see you get hurt. She can’t stand it; she just has a hard time showing that she cares sometimes.”

“I know. She’s got a lot of fight in such a tiny woman.” He chuckled. 

“That’s dependable Meryl for ya,” Milly said before stuffing her face with toast. “I took the day off to finish my letters, and I was gonna ask if you’d send one, Mr. Vash.”

Vash held his head in his hand, elbow wedged between his utensils and plate, and pondered who he’d want to contact. Did he miss anyone when he traveled across the planet on sand steamers weeks ago? He had visited Lina and her grandma, Inepril, the orphanage, and a few others. He had left with the girls in January and had returned in February...

“Nah, I’m good! Hmm, a day off sounds nice. I’ve got some things to do and, er…” He abruptly stood.” To think about.”

“Aren’t you going to finish your food?”

Vash looked at his plate. He snapped his head up and began scarfing down his food, tilting the plate to scrape the rest of it into his mouth. He then chugged the orange juice before taking everything to the kitchen and left. 

Vash stuffed his hands in his brown coat’s seemingly bottomless pockets, slouched forward, and sighed as if he were a broken man. He stared at the ground, but occasionally he’d watch people act affectionate toward each other. Shops displayed various assorted gifts meant to be given to a special someone in somebody’s life. Valentine’s Day was tomorrow, and Vash thought what he’d give to—

“Yes! Yes, I will!”

Vash stopped in his tracks. A young man and woman sat together in front of a small café. While people, including Vash, began clapping for them, he saw the man present a thin steel ring in a small box. Once everything returned to normal, the couple continued to enjoy their morning together. Vash resumed his walk throughout the town, but after witnessing that proposal, his mind couldn’t rest. 

He never gave himself the opportunity to ask a girl out on a date and commit to it for decades. He had fallen in love a couple of times, but it had never lasted. 

Traditions for proposing had evolved since the Fall. On Earth, it was popular for a partner to stand on one knee and present a shiny ring, but that had kinda changed even before humans left Earth. Vash had seen people propose before and each city, town, and village did it differently. Since New Oregon brought in countless people from across the planet, he was often interested in engaging in people’s varied cultures and traditions. 

Vash was sure of one thing: when he’d propose to Meryl, he would absolutely not do it in public. 

Vash had thought about marrying her for months now, but whenever he found the urge to prepare, something always seemed to distract him. Besides, although he wanted to find love and a bit of stability in his life, marriage would seem like a waste of time for Meryl. He’d lose her one day while he’d live on—he and Knives. Meryl wasn’t tied to him now, and if something happened between them, it’d be easier to part without the complication of marriage. Then, married or not, what would they do when she started aging? Would they go out in public, put on forced smiles, and say Meryl was his grandmother or something? Vash grimaced at the thought, eerily resembling his brother as he kicked a can, then picked it up and threw it away. 

_Focus_. Today (and yesterday, actually) they had a fight. Maybe, just maybe, if he got her something cute for Valentine’s Day, she’d be less bitchy… Then again, she might not be so easily swayed, because they’d been fighting about something else. 

Vash paused to examine the pieces on display in the window of a small jewelry store. He cocked his head to the side, wondering what Meryl would like. What would a woman who wears white on a desert planet, gold earrings, and even white boots want? He’d talked about this with Milly before, but he didn’t like the idea of choosing for Meryl. He spent more than a human lifetime dealing with someone who forced their choices on him, so he didn't want that for anyone else. 

He leaned forward, pressing his palms and forehead against the glass and letters of the advertisements artistically painted on the window. Ignoring his reflection, he watched the jewelry maker work his magic and tinker with certain metals and glass to form intricate works of art. He stepped back and focused on his reflection rather than the glistening rings. 

His eyes followed his long hair, a straight and flawless stream, as it descended, not quite long enough to reach his shoulders. It had taken him a while to grow long hair when he was hiding from his brother as Eriks. Milly recently offered advice on how to maintain it, though he already learned how to long ago. He ran a hand through it and didn’t snag on a single knot. He still was young. He was over a hundred thirty years old, though. Meryl was almost thirty. Even now, Vash noticed how time was gradually having an effect on her. A wrinkle there, a gray hair there, and she was slightly slower. He brushed back his hair, noticing the area of black roots near his scalp. Was this aging? Was that what the black hair meant? Vash had never seen any Plant with it. 

Would he start aging? Would he ever look older than twenty-five? He had looked the same since parting from Knives the first time. Vash thought about what it would be like to grow old alongside Meryl. It was scary, yet liberating in a bemusing way. Wasn't that what it meant to be human? Surviving to enjoy what life had to offer for as long as one could? Vash had been doing that for his whole life, but he never thought about dying; that was a mortal thing… Right, mortal. 

People, in a way, lived forever through their families. Knives once described it as a futile effort for humans to achieve immortality through their offspring. That wasn’t a bad thing, though. He and Meryl… He watched his cheeks flush. They were a couple after all; he shared himself and she reciprocated her love. Knives had said that even though their DNA was partially comparable with human DNA, it was unlikely humans and Plants could ever have children together. They were different species. That didn’t mean they couldn’t get along. 

Did having similar DNA bother Knives? Why hadn’t they talked about that before?

Then again, Vash knew Knives well enough. Vash could practically hear Knives’ voice declaring that Plants were superior with or without similar DNA. 

No, just different. 

“Brad!”

Vash widened his eyes at what sounded like a stampede. Slowly, he turned his head to the right, keeping his palms against the glass, and his smile twitched at the sight of dust clouds and as he heard the screams of children. A pack of six children charged for ‘Brad’, seemingly from nowhere. Vash screamed as the children flew into the air with toys and other items in hand. As the world slowed while they were airborne, Vash braced himself for the impact. His prosthetic helped carry three of the children that grasped his limb. Another child’s lollipop stuck to his hair. The other child pulled his right arm forward. They shook him like a ragdoll, calling him a name he gave to everyone he first met, and demanding his attention. 

“Aaah! Guys, guys! What’s up?” Vash managed to overpower the children and squat before the shortest of the group. “There isn’t a fire, is there?”

“Nope!” the one pulling the lollipop from Vash’s hair screamed, and Vash recognized him to be David. He yanked the candy away, and Vash yelped, making the others laugh at his misery. 

“Ooooh, look,” another named Emily pointed at the window, “you’re planning to marry someone? Ew.”

“Heh, uh, m-maybe.”

“My parents aren’t together anymore after daddy hit mommy,” Chris revealed as he tugged on Vash’s arm. 

“Uh, that’s not good.” How was he supposed to respond to _that_?

“Brad, Brad! You’re gonna be Mr. Brad!” a little boy, Tim, teased. “I bet it’s that short woman I see you hang around with.”

“Heh. What gave it away…?” Vash mumbled.

“Knew it,” Emily whispered to herself. 

Vash straightened his back and watched the children bicker amongst each other. It was moments like these that reminded him why he sought to live for so long—that and Rem. He felt his smile broaden as the children began talking over each other about their mischievous activities. They reminded him of the hundreds of other children he had interacted with, and how they’d grown and changed. 

Change wasn’t always such a wonderful thing. 

“Brad, if you’re broke again, we can loan you some doubles,” David said, sucking on his heart lollipop. 

Chris looked down at his shoes. “I can take some from my dad when he’s distracted.”

“What?” Vash shouted. “No! Don’t steal from your folks! And I’m not broke! I bought you guys donuts the other day, remember?!”

“Doesn’t he drink a lot at that one bar?” Emily whispered to Chris. 

“H-hey! I don’t spend everything I own!” Vash retorted. “Besides, how do any of you know? You all stalkers or something?!”

They turned toward each other, and, confidently, they nodded. Vash lowered his head in defeat. It was like having the insurance girls following his every move all over again. 

As much as Vash wanted to play with the kids, he still had to figure out how to make peace with Meryl. She didn’t enjoy public displays of affection much, so surprising her with a nice lunch and shiny balloons wouldn’t win him any good boyfriend points. Something small yet meaningful, maybe? Then again, she’d probably complain about making such a big fuss over getting something for her. 

“Hey, guys,” Vash began, “what would ya give someone you really love for Valentine’s Day?”

The kids began giggling and teasing, but Vash laughed at their responses. 

David raised his candy in the air and said, “Get her a nice, smooth rock!”

“A rock?!” the others exclaimed simultaneously. 

“Nah, these inexperienced babies don’ know a thin’ about a woman.” Tim gestured for Vash to squat to his level to whisper into his ear, and Vash did, leaning closer to him. “Now, what you’d wanna do is hold her, tell her you love her, start unbuttoning things, a—”

“Tim!” Emily throttled him. “You dumbass!”

“You are way too young to know anything about _that_ !” Vash did _not_ need to hear this from them!

Then, an idea hit him faster than David’s client he’d fist aimed at his abdomen. Vash noticed the attack seconds before and shifted his body so the small fist would avoid his bolts and other imperfections. It was funny since such an attack reminded him of when Meryl used to strike him as opposed to expressing her emotions. So much had changed… 

Vash waited patiently at a small cafe near the Bernardelli headquarters until late in the afternoon, near the Bernardelli headquarters. He sat at a small cafe and patiently waited, knowing when his short girl would clock out of work. As the other employees began leaving the building, Vash held his head and drummed his fingers against his cheek as he held his head. Once he spotted the speck of white amongst the crowd—thankful that a sand steamer wasn’t in town to worsen the crowds—Vash began walking toward Meryl with a bag in hand. He waited until she entered a less dense area before approaching her. He sneakily walked behind her as she continued the journey home, oblivious to his presence until he tapped her shoulder. He stopped in his tracks and cringed at the sight of her expression as she looked over her shoulder and recognized him. 

“Vash…” Meryl kept her voice down, but Vash noticed the throbbing vein ready to burst through her forehead.

He raised his hands in surrender and held the bag above her. She eyed him skeptically before roughly snatching the bag from him. She stepped into an alleyway, away from strange glances, and looked inside. 

“Now, I know you like the lavender flowers in the rec room, so I picked some and I… eh, I know you’re on a _diet_ too, so, so I asked the shopkeeper to pack me some, I guess, _healthier_ options.” Vash shrugged. “I can get ya something else… Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Meryl took out a bouquet of lavender flowers neatly wrapped in paper and balanced it in her arm, then reached for a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Her once icy glare melted and she sighed before packing the gifts away. 

“You didn’t have to give me anything to make me feel better, Vash.” She kicked the dirt, looking away. “You stupid broom headed…” She shook her head and clenched her fists with the bag in hand. “I know why you care about Knives—you love everyone—but after everything… He still hurt you and you…” She averted her glare to stare at the sky. 

Vash looked around and pulled Meryl deeper into the alleyway by her cape. Before she could insult him for easily overpowering her, he gently turned her, fell on one knee, making her blush profusely, and wrapped his arms around her lower back. His forehead came to rest on her shoulder, and as her body began to relax, he tightened his hold. 

He knew Meryl cared, but he wished people he loved didn’t argue or fight to get a point across. 

Vash felt Meryl’s head crane around to see if anyone noticed them, and she attempted to pull away once, and Vash was prepared to release her before she completed the embrace. She set the bag down and hesitantly coiled her arms around his neck. Vash began gently wobbling with Meryl in his arms, and he felt her lean against him. 

“C’mon, how about I take you out? It’s Valentine’s Day after all.” Vash nuzzled her hair, and, in a playful way, began purring. 

“Yeah, uh-huh, nice try, buddy.” Meryl patted his back. “We’re not done arguing.”

Vash froze, caught red-handed. He nodded before pulling away from her. “Figures… Oh, always me,” he whined then stood. “Look, how about we go out to dinner and talk about things? It’s Valentine's Day, hon!”

Meryl narrowed her eyes. “A dinner, huh?”

“Yep!” He struck a superhero pose. _I didn’t just think of that idea just now, nope!_

Her face softened, then she smirked at Vash’s antics. “Where are we going? You got a reservation, right? Because all the restaurants will be packed.”

Vash forced his smile to stretch. “Er… something like that.” He laced his fingers with hers and waited to see how she’d react. When she glanced at their hands, he began rubbing the back of hers with his thumb. “I’m not trying to avoid the conversation, Meryl… I just wanna celebrate today with my special short girl.”

“Hmph, short girl, huh?”

“Well, yeah!” He patted her head then mussed her hair. 

“You’re the Humanoid Buffoon.” 

Vash tightened his hand into a fist and pressed it into his chest. He closed his eyes and lowered his head in mock hurt. “Aww, and here I thought you loved me.”

Meryl smiled. “Who said anything about _love_?”

“Me.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead, which granted him a glimpse of her flushed face. “Love and peace.” 

She snorted. “Maybe you’ll find that mayfly—whatever it is.”

“C’mon we better get going _._ Just make sure you hold my hand or I might lose you in this crowd.”

Meryl punched his arm playfully, and the dull pain brought a faint chuckle from Vash. Before he knew it, Meryl yanked him out of the alley and into the crowds. Vash could tell Meryl was, even to this day, somewhat uncomfortable whenever she caught someone glancing at their hands locked together, but he wasn’t one to shy away from affection—public or private. Honestly, Meryl reminded him of his brother sometimes, but that thought kind of weirded him out, so he left it in the back of his mind. 

They walked together with Vash looking around to see which restaurants seemed the least populated. After visiting the second place, Meryl’s suspicions rose when Vash asked if there were any seats open, and, unsurprisingly, there weren’t any available for a while. When he returned to her side after being informed from another random establishment, Meryl immediately pulled him aside, crossed her arms, and glared at him. 

“Uh… I thought we’d be able to get into one by now…” Vash whispered, masking his discomfort with a forced smile. 

“You never made reservations.”

“N-no…”

“And why are you making me walk after I had a hard day at work?”

Vash’s smile dropped. “I’m sorry, hon.” How inconsiderate of him. “You had a hard day?”

She gave a sharp nod. “I have exactly five long reports to write in the next two days. The chief’s upset at Milly for ditching work and being late every other day. And, oh, I don’t know, Vash! I’ve been losing sleep because someone’s genocidal brother has two weapons able to destroy everything! He even hurt you again! He’s always been hurting you in some way!”

Vash knew about her restless nights of sleep ever since he returned after finding his brother in his ship, but Meryl never admitted to what disturbed her sleep. “Meryl, he hasn't killed anyone in almost a decade, he’s told me so.” He smiled. “If Knives were here, I’d ask him to write your reports for you.” He laughed, but when he opened his eyes to see Meryl snarl, he immediately closed his mouth. That wasn’t the right thing to say—especially after their fight.

“That’s not the point, Vash! He’s unstable and dangerous! He’s killed millions of people! He killed your mother!”

Shocked, Vash stared at Meryl before lowering his eyes as the grief and pain washed over him. He had forgotten a lot of his past after July, but now that he regained his memories, reflecting on them still caused him pain despite how different his life and brother were now. 

“Meryl, please understand. We were only a year old. What he did wasn’t right, but he was doing what he thought was right, just like I was. We’ve followed our beliefs based on our experiences and…” 

_Vash, take care of Knives._

“Rem wanted me to take care of him. She loved us, but Knives—”

“You’re making excuses for him!”

Vash staggered at the sudden outburst; not because she was loud, but because she expressed a painful truth. The truth always did hurt, but he had coped with pain before. 

“Okay, fine,” Meryl continued, “I understand that a very smart toddler thought destruction was the best option because it’s as black and white as believing that someone shouldn’t ever take a life. What about the years after the fall?”

Vash whined in defeat. “When we were together during our first fifteen years on the planet, we supported each other despite our differences. I managed to stop him whenever he tried to hurt people. But if hadn’t left him, maybe he wouldn’t have gotten worse or killed anyone. I just—”

“Taking care of Knives doesn’t mean accepting how he treats you and feeling that what he chooses to do is your fault!”

Vash’s face contorted in agony because he knew she was right. Still… “Hon, he’s trying. You used to hit me all the time—and stalk me. Don’t you see? It takes a lot to change, but he’s trying and I chose to trust him. Don’t you trust me?”

Meryl’s arms dropped to her side and she looked down. “Of course I do. I’ve always trusted you to do the right thing.”

“Then trust me to find a place to eat! Let’s enjoy today, huh?” He pulled her by the shoulders and wrapped an arm around her neck, side hugging her. “And no, I’m not avoiding the subject. Let’s just focus on us right now, is that alright?”

Meryl almost pulled away from the hug when people watched them, and when Vash noticed her discomfort, he dropped his arm. “Truce, for now, Mr. Brad Stryfe.” She huffed before veering away from him. “We’re not even married and you took my name.”

“Okay, Brad might not stick… Hm, how about Eriks then?” He caught up and strolled beside her. “Amour? Amour Stryfe.”

“Whatever you want, _Brad,_ as long as Amour isn’t stupid.” 

“Nope! It’s cute! Like you!” He began, skipping ahead of her like one of the local kids, and Meryl couldn’t help but smile at him. 

“Ooooooo, _Brad’s_ in looooove!”

Vash nearly tripped at the sudden voices shouting in unison. Turning his head, he spotted the children he’d met earlier watching him from the other side of the street. They were mocking him by hugging themselves, puckering their lips, and yelling taunts about his relationship with Meryl.

He grinned, maliciously. “Here I come!” Vash began running toward them, and the children screamed as they scattered. “I’m gonna steal all your candy and nothing will be left! Run! Run away!”

“Haha, you’re gonna steal it for your girlfriend!” David screeched while sticking his tongue out.

“Gah! Get over here!”

Before long, Vash resumed searching for an exquisite restaurant. They eventually fell silent, enjoying the time together without having to fill the space between them with words. They immersed themselves in the soft music and whispers from other couples around them, and Meryl became comfortable holding his hand.

Success. After half an hour of guessing which restaurant would have room for two, Vash found it: the establishment the furthest from their house. It was a restaurant that mixed French and Italian dishes, and if it weren’t for the crashed ship, the recipes wouldn’t have ever made it to Gunsmoke. Vash had never visited the place, and when it came to food in general, he ate and survived on the grossest of rations. He wouldn’t care where he ate, but since Meryl was worth more than a can of mystery meat or beans, he picked one of the fancier places.

The only reason why the restaurant had enough space was that most people couldn’t afford it.

Although Meryl was visibly upset due to Vash’s lack of planning, they didn’t have to wait long for the table furthest from the entrance and almost isolated from the rest of the restaurant. Like the gentlemen he was (something Rem had said long ago), Vash pulled the seat out for Meryl and he took the spot on the opposite side and admired the decorations on their table. He dragged a thin vase toward him to sniff the freshly clipped rose.

While the waitress visited their table, Vash absorbed his surroundings. It was nice hearing the sometimes chaotic sounds in the restaurant. He remembered when he had to take an odd job to cook for small businesses or wait tables. He understood how rewarding it was to work an honest day and earn an honest wage.

He ordered drinks, an expensive brand of whiskey, a sugar drink for his lovely lady, and two glasses of water. Meryl ordered a few appetizers when Vash became immersed in his thoughts again. Even though it seemed like he and Meryl were civil, Vash couldn’t help but feel the tension between them still. Any moment something could trigger an argument. Anything could happen. 

Maybe he should be the one to take charge and solve the whole dilemma between them. 

“If it makes you feel any better,” Vash began as he nibbled on a piece of bread. “I haven’t really forgiven Knives...”

Before Vash spoke, Meryl was casually drumming her fingernails on the table. Now she looked at him with narrowed eyes. “But you always used to say that you did…” She dug her nails into the cloth and dragged her hand off the table. “You make excuses for him. It took him years to actually act civil around us, and he still hurts you. He still sometimes enters my mind! Milly’s, too! The asshole only cares about you and himself!” 

Vash began peeling the skin away from the bread and chewed on a piece. It tasted terrible; whenever he ate while in a foul mood or during an argument, things he enjoyed eating always tasted rotten or flavorless. “It’s one thing to say something, it’s another to actually mean it.” He put down the bread to rub his prosthetic arm, and then met Meryl’s gaze and her scowl vanished. She looked down at her nails, suddenly appreciating the soft sounds they made as she twiddled with her fingers. 

“Then there’s you,” she began softly. “You still blame yourself for what he’s become, don’t you? Like with Wolfwood. They made their own choices. It’s not your fault—”

“Yes and no,” he said, his voice growing in strength with each word. “If I did things differently, then Wolfwood might’ve survived. Knives wouldn’t have… I should’ve tried harder or just not have been so harsh with them. You know that the life I live isn’t an easy one and mercy isn’t an easy choice. I hope you can understand that.” He tapped his temple and Meryl nodded. _’Knives forced my body to form the Angel Arm, but I pulled the trigger and nearly killed him. How could someone, who loves Rem, believes in her, and firmly believes that everyone has a ticket to the future, almost kill their brother? The people survived the blast, but he almost didn’t. I wouldn’t have known if he died because of my memory loss, and that is unforgivable in itself, really.’_

She met his eyes and didn’t falter. “You were defending yourself, Vash,” she began, firmly. “Yes, maybe you’re right and no one should take a life, but…”

“Remember those villagers? The one that tried to kill me after I shot Legato? Maybe the man that threatened to shoot me did have the right to, and it’s an easy choice.”

“That’s not the same, Vash!” She pulled on the tablecloth, fisting it in both hands. “You don’t deserve what happened to you!”

Vash shook his head before absently sipping his drink. “I’m not entirely innocent. That’s why I’ve never pleaded for my innocence for the past, what, three decades?” He glanced at his water and gulped down a generous amount, feeling energized suddenly. “If I didn’t leave Knives, what might’ve happened? He wouldn’t have gotten worse or began killing people. For the first decade, I always stopped him.”

“Then what, Vash? Waste eighty years of your life trying to stop him? Don’t tell me you wouldn’t miss the experiences you had after leaving him.”

They paused when their waitress returned. Meryl continued to glare at him while Vash beamed at the waitress, his teeth reflecting the candlelight at his table. “I—uh, was wondering if what this says is true.” Vash tapped on the menu multiple times for emphasis—childish as ever. “Are the salmon sandwiches made of real salmon?”

“No, sir,” the waitress began. “They were recently created from a neighboring Plant not long ago.”

“Figures,” Vash grumbled. “Uh, nothing ever goes my way.” Now, _that_ wasn’t entirely true anymore. He lifted the menu again before slapping it down on the table. 

“Please, miss,” he clapped his hands together over his chest, “please give me the largest plate full of ‘em. What would you like?” He eyed his date’s menu as she used it to shield her face. 

The waitress giggled. “Would that be your main dish or an appetizer?” 

“Appetizer, please.”

“What would you like, ma’am?” the waitress turned to Meryl after writing Vash’s order. 

Meryl lowered her menu for a moment before straightening it on the table. “Caprese Salad with Pesto Sauce would be great.”

“Aaah, that’s one of my favorites. Anything else?”

When they both simultaneously answered no, the waitress smiled and excused herself. The silence between them lingered, and Vash had an urge to apologize for continuing the argument. 

“I know he’s your brother,” Meryl said, at last, reading the menu to avoid looking at him. “He’s your family, and your only family thanks to him.” Vash winced and she continued. “Just because he’s family, that doesn’t mean he has the right to hurt you. I had nightmares when we separated after we tried looking for Wolfwood’s cross. How could you leave me like that? Screw the deal! You could’ve died, and for what?”

“You know I’m a firm believer in people changing to strive for a better future.” Vash finished his water before continuing. “Everyone deserves that chance. I gave Knives that chance, and even though he makes mistakes, he’s trying and I’m willing to be patient with him. I trust him this time.” He rubbed the back of his neck. 

“You trust him? Vash, you didn’t listen to me when you gave him that gun for Christmas! Look what happened! Look what he did!”

“I did trust him to some extent before… He proved to me that he can be trusted with a promise.”

Before Meryl could respond, shouting erupted from another section of the restaurant. Vash turned to where the commotion originated from while Meryl stood to get a better view of the situation. At a table near theirs, he spotted their waitress and overheard her apologies to another customer about some trivial mistake. The waitress obviously was distressed, eyes glistening more than when she visited Vash and Meryl’s table. Vash’s eyes widened when the rude customer held onto her wrist when she reached for the _supposedly_ wrong drink on the table. Unconsciously, Vash’s body began responding to the situation. He planned to do something about this mess.

“Vash, security guards will handle it,” Meryl hissed. “I want to prevent a catastrophe and it’s our date night!”

“I should do something,” he mumbled. “He could have a weapon.”

“You don’t have to be the hero for everybody and every little thing that happens! That’s how you get hurt or worse! Please wait.”

Vash pouted. “You're mean! You and I know I wasn’t entirely responsible for damages all the time!”

The gunman reluctantly locked his fingers together and balanced his chin over them on the table. A minute later, a security guard ordered the rude customer to vacate the premises on his own or by force. The sighs of relief from multiple people weren’t unnoticed as the inconsiderate man eventually left by himself. 

“Humanity at its finest, isn’t that what Knives would say?” Meryl asked, crossing her arms. “The jerk, how could anyone treat someone like that?”

Vash couldn’t argue against that. The bystander effect was prevalent—people dehumanized each other at times, and the victims and heroes were given gratitude for their efforts or not.

Eventually, the waitress returned with a balanced tray. “He-Hello again.” She forced a smile at Vash, one he was all too familiar with whenever he stared at a mirror. 

“Are you okay?” he asked with a genuine look of concern. 

The waitress’s smile dropped for a moment before she smirked. “Oh yeah, people like that come in. Once the sheriff was called, you know.” She diligently placed the two dishes, so large they nearly covered the surface of the table. “Let me know when you two are ready to order again.”

The couple picked at their meal and slowly chewed on their respected dishes. Meryl ate with some dignity, holding her utensils correctly while wiping her mouth whenever the food stuck to her lips. Vash was something else entirely. In less than a minute, he stuffed the salmon sandwiches in his mouth, chewing briefly before he’d swallow and bite into another. When they finished, their waitress returned and they ordered their main dishes; Meryl a simple plate of pasta and salad while Vash ordered the whole menu. Again, they tried to disregard each other, but Vash often glanced at her before he helped himself with his drinks or the food. 

Meryl yanked the napkin from her shirt and began playing with it, avoiding Vash’s eyes. “When he left for those months,” she began, “didn’t it feel nice to just move on with your life? It took us years to get together because guess what? What, you might ask? His _majesty_ always degraded you for anything he thought was wrong.”

Vash didn’t respond right away. When he did, he stared at the rose at their table. “Yeah, he does that a lot. It’s not as bad as it once was...”

“He’s probably the most human thing I’ve ever met, but for the worst reasons,” Meryl huffed, leaning back in her chair. “He supposedly cares about you, and you know me, being in insurance and all, I’ve read some reports. It’s always a loved one who knows how to hurt you the most…”

Vash awkwardly rested his hands on his lap, head down, and then he looked up with only his eyes. “You’re talking about your parents, aren’t you?”

Meryl stammered, but once she composed herself, she straightened her back, glaring. “No.” She seemed to have doubted her previous resolve. “This isn’t about them!” She slammed her fist on the table. “Do you know what I had to do to be happy? I had to cut my family out of my life! Maybe this is what you have to do.”

Vash couldn’t help but smile at her. He knew she meant well, but he wasn’t an idiot. He reached for her fist on the table and held it in his hands, gingerly rubbing his thumb over her delicate fingers. “You shouldn’t worry about little ol’ me, Meryl, and I shouldn’t worry so much about you. I know you can handle yourself, but can you trust me that I _chose_ to let Knives hurt me?”

She pulled her hand back and sarcastically said, “That makes it all better, Vash.”

He looked defeated and slowly returned his hands to his side of the table. “It’s complicated… It’s just, uh, I shouldn’t let him hurt me, but I also understand him. Listen, if he does anything like that again, I promise you I’ll defend myself. How’s that?” He cocked his head to the side, eyes glistening like a lost puppy. “I’ve always been harder on Knives than most people because I want him to be better and to do better. He’s my brother and more knowledgeable than most, so he has the opportunity to learn and grow, but so do I. We’re old and stubborn, so give us some time and trust me.”

Meryl sighed, digesting her meal and his words. She brushed her bangs to the side while contemplating her decision. Then, before Vash spoke again, she nodded. He grinned and offered his hands, palms facing the ceiling. With no one watching, she hesitantly placed her hands in his. 

“Even when I last saw him, I said that it’ll take time and when I’m ready, I’ll choose to really forgive him or not. I want to forgive him, but I still need time. You know what they say about resentment… It’s like drinking poison and expecting the other person to suffer.”

“Would you need a few more decades to give him that _forgiveness_?” Meryl asked, her eyebrows raised skeptically. 

“N-no! No, I don’t.” 

“Good, because I won’t stay young forever!” 

Vash continued to smile but his heart lurched. She was right; she wasn’t going to live forever, like him. 

The waitress returned with their meals. Vash could sense that she was miserable, concealing her frustrations and disgust behind a fake smile.

“You two doing okay?” she began setting the plates in front of them. 

“Can I speak to your manager?”

The poor woman’s smile disappeared and beats of sweat dropped from her forehead. Meryl narrowed her eyes at Vash, obviously awaiting an answer without outright asking for it. 

“Was there something wrong...?”

“I just need to speak with whoever it is.”

The waitress reluctantly nodded and placed Vash’s last plate beside other dishes. 

“I didn’t think her service was bad, Vash. She’s not lazy, like you.” 

Vash shook his head and chuckled. Minutes later as Meryl remained silent to observe, a huge man with broad shoulders stood before them. His black shirt and khakis pants were a complete contrast compared to the waitress’ uniforms.

“Is there a problem, sir?” Even the manager’s voice could’ve choked Vash to death. 

From a serious gunman to a dork, Vash looked up with a sheepish smile. “Sir, I just wanted to tell you,” he waved at the waitress beside her boss, “that she is such a great waitress!”

Everyone was dumbfounded at the avalanche of compliments toward the stunned waitress. Once Vash was finished, she reminded him of Meryl as she blushed before covering her mouth with a notepad. 

“Thank you for informing me of her performance,” the manager said. “She does work hard since she’s trying to save to move to Octovern.”

“W-What? No kidding? That sounds like a plan! I went there a few times and they have some of the best donuts!” 

Once everyone settled down, the manager seemed happier as he returned to his duties. The waitress mouthed a “thank you” before a customer demanded her attention. 

“That was… why couldn’t all of the men do that when I was a waitress?” Meryl scowled as she stared at the flickering candle on their table. 

Vash snorted, recalling the way his insurance girl fit nicely in a maid’s uniform. “Well, if she’s in a good mood, then her customer service might improve and might change the foul mood of other guests. It’s not a lot, but sometimes in order to solve bigger problems, you have to change a little at a time.”

“One step at a time, I guess…” Meryl continued to eat, and when they lapsed in long seemingly endless stretches of silence, they couldn’t stop glancing at each other as they ate.

After finishing their meals and leaving a generous tip, they held each other’s hands and enjoyed the stroll through the streets. It didn’t take long for them to return home. Vash opened the door for her, and once they stepped inside, he locked it. Milly wasn’t around, but knowing her, she was out buying groceries or writing letters in her room. 

Meryl pulled Vash’s arm to the stairs and he nearly tripped at the sudden motion. When she reached the second floor, she stopped and faced away from him. Curious, he waited for her to do something and since she was a few steps above him, she stood at his eye level. 

“What’s wrong, hon?” Vash asked, tugging her cape to attract her attention. “Did I say something stupid again?”

“No. No, I’ve just been thinking… Knives just keeps hurting you.” She clenched her fists. “Don’t let him. Promise?”

Vash looked down. What if Knives did do something again and he’d have to defend himself? Could he do it without harming him? Could he keep all of these promises forever? 

“I’ll try. I’ll also try to be here for you like when you and Milly were for me all those years ago.”

Meryl looked over her shoulder, and Vash grinned at the corners of her mouth reaching for her flushed cheeks. Once again, she grabbed his sleeve and wordlessly guided him toward their room. Amused, he let her. 

Inside, Meryl yanked his arm and pulled him toward the bed, and he landed on his rear with a grunt. Chuckling, he watched her coy, dragging steps as she approached him. She stood before him while he sat on the edge of the bed, legs slightly parted. He circled his arms around her, gingerly pulling her in between his knees. His heart began racing in anticipation as he felt her arms circle his neck, drawing him closer to her face. He closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss her forehead, and then he dropped another an inch from the last, then another until he reached her nose, pecking the tip. He sighed in contentment as she grazed his scalp, then he frowned when her hand lingered in one particular spot near his ear. 

“What do you think this is?” Meryl twisted a few strands of black hair hidden underneath his sleek golden locks. 

“I dunno.” He tightened his hold on her. “Knives never mentioned something like this.”

“He’d better know. You’re not allowed to lose your hair color, _Mr. Stryfe_.” She brought her knees on the bed and seated between his legs.

“Yes, ma’am! Maybe I should insure my hair just in case. Ya never know.”

Meryl chuckled, and Vash couldn’t help but chortle at his own sense of humor. He threw his head back as he laughed, his hair slipping from his shoulders to hang from his head. He gasped, eyes snapping open at the sensation of Meryl’s lips softly planting tingling kisses on the nape of his neck. His hand found itself cupping the back of her head while the other explored the rest of her body, fumbling with the hem of her skirt. He squealed when her teeth pinched his skin, but once she continued kissing the other side of his neck, he quietly groaned. 

Meryl pulled away. Vash raised his head, eyes twinkling, and watched her cape crumble to the floor along with her skirt. Now in only her leggings and shirt, she glanced at him while undoing the blue knots of her uniform. 

“Pervert,” she teased. 

“Hey, I may be a bit of a perv, but I’m just admiring my mayfly.” He raised his chin. 

“Oh, look at the time.” She turned her wrist over. “I forgot about that report for the chief.”

Vash made a protesting noise. He mock-wept. “Thinking of other men at a time like this? How cruel, insurance girl!”

“Oh, shut up!” She playfully pushed him, straddling his waist on the bed, hands massaging over the areas of unscathed torso. 

“I’m just sayin'… Is the chief cute?” Vash raised a brow. 

“No! He’s an old man, like you!” She jabbed a nail into his chest. 

“Then I better keep an eye on him. There isn’t enough of you to go around, short girl!” He stuck his tongue out. 

Her brow twitched. “You—” She sharply inhaled. “V-Vash…”

Vash snickered. He began massaging her rear while his hand slipped into the front of her leggings. She lowered herself over him, elbows digging into the bed on each side of his head. She began twisting locks of golden, soft hairs around her fingers. 

“I love you, Meryl.”

She stopped playing with his hair and gazed into his eyes. Before she could respond, Vash lifted himself to kiss her parted lips. 

After a close call from Milly knocking on their door, they relaxed and basked in each other’s warmth. Together, they cuddled underneath the not-so-pristine bedsheets and blankets. Meryl rested her head over Vash’s chest where the grate wouldn’t cause discomfort. Keeping her eyes closed, she began running her fingers across the ridges of his muscles, the warm metals protruding from his torso, and often leaned up to kiss his jaw. He chuckled whenever she did, and when he finally raised his head from a pillow, he seductively wiggled his eyebrows at the view of her breasts flattening over his chest. She pinched his side, which caused him to whimper.

 _Out of every guy she could’ve chosen, of course, she picked such a handsome devil._ Vash stifled a laugh at his sudden thought. 

As he continued to massage her scalp, the rush of ecstasy began fading. Whenever she glanced at him, it was impossible to ignore their problems for long. 

They had talked about this before ever getting together, and even though the future seemed far away, Meryl didn’t understand how quickly life would pass. He’d seen it countless times before, and especially whenever he visited the floating ship before it crashed. He knew every relationship had its complications and a strong couple could overcome most obstacles, but he doubted anyone else on the planet had similar problems. (As if Knives would’ve ever dated anyone, but Vash could’ve hoped.) He still feared Meryl would waste her time and what life she had, and the thought of watching her die in his arms from age never saw well in his stomach. 

He wanted this, nonetheless. He tightened his hold on her as he tried to convince his heart to allow himself to love without worries. 

“Meryl…” Vash began, but instead of facing the love of his life, he was counting the cracks in the ceiling. 

“Hmmm?” Meryl curled closer to Vash’s side. “If it was for the bite, I’m not apologizing for it.” She grinned, eyes still closed. 

“N-no. It’s,” he paused, “something else.”

Vash’s tone of voice caught her attention, and she propped her upper body with an elbow. “What’s wrong?”

Vash’s head shot up and he felt guilty for making her worry. “Oh, uh… I love you.”

Meryl narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Spill it, Vash. Is there something wrong?”

Vash’s mouth thinned as he bit his inner lips. He brought her closer to his shoulder to kiss her temple as his hand absently caressed her body. 

“Would you wanna marry me, hon?”

Silence. The longer she didn’t answer, the more awkward Vash felt, and the worse he felt, the more he regretted asking such a question. He had been thinking about asking her for a while, and even though they had talked about their future together, marriage had rarely been part of such discussions. Was he being rejected? It had to have been the aging problems—that was it. Rejection, but she was still in his arms. 

“I would.” 

“Eh…” Vash made another inaudible noise. “R-really?”

“I would, but…” Meryl lowered her head and tucked her chin over her chest. 

“But?” Vash mentally cursed at himself for being so stupid. (Maybe Knives and Meryl were right about him being an idiot.)

“You told me you’ve always been worried about my life expectancy, and, you know me, I try not to be a burden or complicate things—risk prevention. You’ll be dragging a mummified corpse around eventually if we’re legally chained together.” She wrinkled her face. “Don’t get me started on the meager insurance benefits for married couples…”

“Oh, c’mon, hon!” Vash brought the back of his hand to his forehead. “Say it isn’t so! My insurance girl knows about insurance stuff?!” He cracked open an eye and grinned. 

Meryl snorted before sighing, puffing warm breath on Vash’s chest. “I never expected that you’d ask, broom-head, and I wasn’t planning on settling down, but did anyway, I guess.” 

Vash mumbled to himself before moving his body to sit up against the bed frame. Eventually, Meryl joined him and they sat together in silence for some time. 

“Yeah, I can see why. It always bothers me whenever I have the itch to wander to another town, but here I am.” Vash pinched himself just to prove it, which earned him a chuckle from her. “I never expected to settle anywhere ever again either.”

“Vash,” Meryl spoke quietly, “my family’s very traditional, which is why I’ll probably never introduce you to them, a man I wasn’t planning on marrying but who I want to spend the rest of my life with regardless.”

A doubtful smile lightly tugged Vash’s mouth. “I really want to share my life with you... I-I’m still afraid.” His eyes glistened as tears threatened to trickle from the corners of his eyes. “So many people died around me.” He slowly faced Meryl, who was frozen at the sight of his face contorted with agony. “I don’t want anyone to suffer. I don’t want to see you get hurt, but if we’re together…” Vash held his head in his hands, pressing his palms against his eyes. 

Meryl tightened her hands into fists, accidentally pinching his skin. She then climbed onto Vash again, parted her legs to straddle him, and circled her arms around his neck. He hiccuped, and Meryl began massaging the back of his neck while her forehead rested on his head. 

“You can’t live in fear, Vash. Please, how long have you been afraid? Your whole life, right?” She leaned back to pry his hands from his face. He continued to look down, avoiding her determined eyes. “I’ve known the dangers and chose to follow you because who you are is worth risking my safety for! Don’t you get it, idiot!? I want to be here with you, Vash!” She tightened her hold on his wrists. “Do you know how much it hurt, how painful it was whenever you left me? Milly? I bet Wolfwood felt the same way.”

Vash sniffled, wiping his nose with the back of his hand after freeing it from Meryl’s possessive grip. “He died because he was involved in my life. I’ve been trying to settle with you, Milly, and Knives after all of these years, but even without a bounty, people could still try to hurt us. I feel like I’m stuck too. I’ve been stuck.” 

Minutes passed before Meryl startled Vash by cupping his face, dragging her thumb over his tear trails. 

“My parents wanted me to be an obedient housewife to some other member of our church, and that’s fine and dandy for some, but it’s not for me. I was stuck for a while too.”

“Hmm.” Vash remained quiet but gave her his full attention. 

“My family isn’t bad, no, but the thought of being cooped up inside and only doing chores and whatever is just…”

“Prison?” Vash asked with a hoarse voice before he cleaned his throat. “Stuck.”

She nodded. “Even today, I feel like I’m stuck here. It’s been so long since we went on an adventure, and, even though I dislike the bastard, Knives’ leaving was exciting when we all left together.”

Vash cocked his head to the side. “You miss the adventure?”

Meryl’s face flushed, and Vash was left to wonder why. “We have adventures of our own here, but it isn’t the same as before. Tell me, genius, would a woman accept being assigned to chase the Humanoid Typhoon?”

“Huh, I always thought there was some insurance scam or someone just hated your bitchy temper.”

“Hey, I’m not as bitchy as before!” She flicked his nose, and he yelped. 

“Still bitchy,” Vash dared in a mumble. 

“I can take care of myself, Vash. I’ve been doing it for years before I met you and I’ll keep doing it. I just never expected to worry about creepy assassins, a weirdo with your hand, and a genocidal brother that’s about as idiotic as you.”

“Better not let him catch you saying that when he gets back.” He laughed while trying to clear his nose. “I know you can. Sometimes I just worry, is all.”

“We have a great insurance plan, we’ll be fine.” Meryl huffed, tilting her chin up with confidence and attitude. 

“Oh, I don’t doubt that! If all of my hair turns black, you should research how to cover the yellow.”

Meryl giggled, then when silence lingered for a few minutes, her fixed gaze locked onto Vash’s eyes. “If we don’t work out—” Meryl began, pausing to gather her thoughts. “If something happens—or when you run out of love because you’re too busy _loving_ everything that breathes—no matter how many years pass, I would never think what we have is a waste of time.”

Vash sighed in relief, but even so, the fear he had endured for over a century would always be present, but it was his decision to allow it to control him. 

Eventually, they began a pleasant movie marathon and watched them on a huge screen and monitor. (One that Knives had tinkered with and added files from the crashed ship’s databases.) Vash even had the romantic movies Rem used to force him and Knives to watch. Sometimes Vash couldn’t believe over a hundred years had passed since then. He knew he and Knives would never have the same relationship they had as children ever again, but at least they were trying now. 

Vash drew Meryl closer to him while they watched a romantic movie, dropping a kiss on her head. Squeezing his hand, she tipped her head back and kissed his neck. Before he could return the favor, she snatched one of the Valentine’s Day chocolates he brought her. 

“H-Hey!” Vash whined, yanking the box from her grasp. “You said you didn’t want any!”

Meryl stuck her tongue out and annoyingly munched on the chocolate, smacking her lips while chewing. 

“Hmph, and _you_ tell me to close my mouth!” He huffed before stuffing his face with a few small chocolates. 

They turned to the screen when a particular scene caught their attention. The couple announced their love for each other and began to discuss how they’d get married and what they’d do afterward. While he and Meryl couldn’t travel to Paris for a honeymoon, the idea of traveling turned Vash’s mental gears as an idea began developing. 

“I’d give them a few years before they divorce,” Meryl stated as she began wiping her hands with a napkin. “He doesn’t listen to her enough.”

“Maybe if she didn’t nag him so often…” Vash mumbled to himself. “Well, he’s kind of a jerk, huh? Geesh, think you’d know a guy.” Vash crossed his arms behind his head against the bed frame. 

“They shouldn’t get married because of what their parents want,” Meryl bitterly said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why would they wanna visit a city for their wedding when they have all of Earth to visit?”

“Who cares what the destination is, as long as we have each other,” Vash blurted out, grinning. 

Meryl turned to him with a raised brow. “ _We_?”

Vash nodded. “ _We_ don’t have to marry to travel or vacation together. Besides, if we’d marry, you’d have Knives for a brother-in-law.”

Meryl wrinkled her nose in disdain. “You think I haven’t considered that you broom-head? You’d have my family to deal with, too.”

“Have you thought about contacting them or visiting?”

Meryl looked solemn all of a sudden, and Vash regretted asking, knowing she and her family weren’t on good terms. Whose family wasn't? Milly’s, of course. 

“I wrote a letter to them once before the Fifth Moon incident. I haven’t heard from them.”

“Would you try again? It’s been so long, hon. Milly and I could help you with the letter!”

“... Maybe.” She stole another sweet from under his nose because he let her. “It’s not like I need their support or whatever.” She began chewing on the sweet. “Now, about this vacation idea…”

Vash stretched to relieve some of the tension across his body. “Hm, maybe we just need to get outta here. Maybe a break from this city is what we need.”

“I don’t even know if I have vacations.”

“Hah, overachiever. Never took a break, huh? Then, you can just quit.” Vash shrugged. 

Meryl’s eyebrow twitched. “I have responsibilities, Vash. I can’t just leave and quit whenever!”

“And why not?”

“Because… they’d need me and my reports…”

“Oh, suuure! Hon, even though people are learning about what life was like on Earth, many are still illiterate. You can write and read efficiently, so I doubt they’d be able to replace Meryl Stryfe easily—especially with your background and experience. Bet you can just quit and come back to the same job. It might be a long, long vacation.”

“Wouldn’t you whine about my safety or whatever? You won’t give me a stupid speech about how miserable you are and how everyone in your life should avoid you because of it?”

Vash shifted uncomfortably. “You can handle yourself, right? No more bounties. No more crazy assassins. No more red coats or spiked hair. People don’t recognize me anymore—not even people who once lived on the ship. Besides, the itch to adventure has been out of my reach for some time. Meryl,” Vash grabbed her hand, “would you do me the honors of scratching it with me?”

She snorted. “Only if you’d reach for mine. Hm, I’ll think about it, Vash. No promises.”

“Yes, ma’am.” 

A week; it took only a week to decide, and while Vash had been working with the Doc to assist him with maintaining the ship, as usual, Meryl had scheduled, planned, and estimated how much money was required for a vacation. When Vash asked what was their destination, Meryl answered January. 

On the sand steamer, they leaned over the railing and watched the crowds interact with each other in New Oregon. They continued waving at Milly, who was still cheering from the dock. Vash lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the suns as he looked up at the crashed ship. It all felt like some fever dream. He grasped onto Meryl’s hand. No, it was real. She was here. Was his search over? 

Vash felt as if he finally found love and peace. 

While traveling, they encountered some of Gunsmoke’s _finest_ people, and even though Vash sometimes panicked at the anxiety of having Meryl with him during such conflicts, they could protect each other. She wasn’t Wolfwood, but she was about as skilled with her cape and derringers. 

When they finally reached January, they discovered that a sand steamer was headed for the next few cities. A two-week vacation turned into a few months, then months became a year, and they couldn’t be happier. They often wandered together through the desert on foot, with Meryl planning when and where to go, and sending Milly letters. 

While they were staying in Octovern for a while, Milly sent them a concerning letter: Knives had returned to New Oregon after a year away. The way Milly described his reaction when he couldn’t find Vash was comical. Apparently, Knives instructed Milly to inform them that he would meet the couple in December eventually. That somewhat kindled Vash’s anxieties, but he tried not to dwell on it as they traveled to December. 

When they reached December, they stayed within the city before traveling to Paradise, where Wolfwood’s church was located. Most of the kids Vash met the last time he visited were still there. Melanie hadn’t changed one bit, and everyone warmed up to Meryl instantly. At least if he and Meryl ever wanted children, there was plenty to choose from one day. 

A week later, Vash was playing with the children while Melanie was teaching Meryl how to cook a unique dish able to feed a family of ten for only fifteen double dollars. A little girl managed to drag Vash to the ground by his hair, which now hung past his chest. The other children pinned him down while he struggled and they laughed and teased. Suddenly, Vash overpowered them. He stood and stared into the distance toward the city and spotted a peculiar figure headed for the orphanage. 

_‘Dear brother.’_

Vash shook as a familiar prickle chilled his body. _‘Knives.’_

_‘You took your pet on a long walk, I see.’_

Vash frowned. _‘She’s not my pet, she’s my partner.’_

_‘I have a surprise for you.’_

Vash furrowed his brows and studied the bulb looming over the city in the distance, blocking a number of towering buildings. 

He’d trust Knives. He had to remind himself why he gave Knives his trust to begin with. 

When Vash concentrated on the dot, he widened his eyes, snarling at a familiar shape. He glanced over his shoulders at the children watching from behind him, and saw they were flinching. He must have been glaring. 

_‘Meryl,’_ Vash sent out. 

_‘Huh? What?’_

_‘It’s Knives. I don’t know what it is, but he has a ‘surprise’ for me. Can you and Melanie keep everyone inside?’_

_‘I will. Please remember your promise.’_

_‘Maybe he won’t do anything, but,’_ Vash looked away from Knives as he neared, ashamed, _‘I wish I still didn’t have any doubts.’_

He went to confront Knives away from the children, and as his strides ate up the distance between them, Knives sauntered toward him. The image before Vash didn’t sit right with him’ in fact, it outright disgusted him. Knives shouldn’t have been carrying that. If he were to use it, it wouldn’t have been full of mercy. 

Knives halted a few feet in front of Vash, wearing a brown desert wrap cloak that concealed the upper half of his red SEEDs uniform. His face was obscured by the hood and Vash spotted the blond hairs slumping over his forehead and sticking to his skin whenever a gust of wind tugged the hood. Vash’s eyes traveled down to analyze the holster at Knives’ waist and found both Long Colts. He felt his face soften at the sight of the black cat—the same one he had left with Knives over a year ago—perched on his brother’s shoulder. Vash lifted his gaze to follow the straps around Knives’ waist that connected to the heavy cross against his back. Milly would’ve mentioned it in her letters…

“Did you lie to me?” Vash asked in a whisper. 

Knives dragged his hoodie from his head and ran a hand through his disheveled hair, glaring. “About?”

“The cross… I asked if you knew what happened to it.”

A mocking smile was the only response Knives gave for a moment. “I did offer for you to search through my ship, didn’t I?”

Vash opened his mouth but paused. His face wrinkled, but he then dropped his gaze. “Yeah, you did… What are you doing with it?”

“You obviously were concerned about it, so I’m returning it to…” He spotted the children peering from the door. “This was the priest’s orphanage.”

Vash didn’t respond, but Knives got the answer anyway. 

He neared the church. Vash raised an arm to stop him. 

“Afraid I’ll _corrupt_ them?”

“You don’t even like kids. Why would you wanna go in?”

They stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Then, Vash sighed. Instead of keeping his arm up, he moved it to place it on Knives’ unoccupied shoulder. 

“Nyaaa,” the cat cried from the other. 

“It’s good to see you. I’m sorry—I just didn’t expect this.” Vash looked at the cross. 

Knives reached for the cat’s head and scratched behind her ears. She purred before jumping off to wander the grounds of the church. 

“Did ya name her?” Vash asked. 

“No.”

“Oh... How come?”

“Naming her would imply I’ve domesticated her. She’s free to do as she pleases.” Knives trudged toward the church, leaving Vash behind before he stopped to look over his shoulder. “Coming?”

Vash followed Knives around the buildings and communicated with Meryl about what was going on. They turned the corner where Wolfwood’s grave was accompanied by the children’s gifts and innocent letters. 

Knives gazed at Wolfwood’s grave, then he closed his eyes to concentrate on sensing if people were eavesdropping. 

“What?” Vash asked. 

_‘Based on Legato’s reports,’_ Knives began through telepathy, _‘the Eye of Michael, the Plant worshiping cult, held this orphanage hostage. More specifically, Evergreen did after following my instructions in order to control the priest to serve me along with promising the money from your bounty.’_

Vash suppressed the urge to frown at the thought of Knives allowing people to kill children. _‘You mentioned the cult before… What happened to it?’_

Knives shrugged. _‘Evergreen was one of their leaders and part of a branch that trained children into becoming contracted killers. There are multiple branches and their influence is extensive and secretive._ _Legato manipulated Evergreen and the priest not to disclose my location for my protection within the bulb, and they were the only humans within the cult to acknowledge my existence.’_

 _‘What happened to Wolfwood’s mentor?’_ When Knives’ brows slightly furrowed, Vash gave him a look. “You killed him.”

“Yes.”

Vash grimaced. 

“He attempted to infiltrate my ship to kill me.”

Vash looked torn, then he raised his eyes, looking confused. “I just wish things would’ve… I don’t know.”

Suddenly, Knives looked tired. He pulled the strap of the cross while looking around. _‘If the cult‘s influence or pathetic members are present here, then I should reveal the surprise in December instead.’_ He shifted to face the December in the distance and began the journey there. Vash followed close behind. “Oh, here.” Knives upholstered the silver gun and handed it to Vash. 

Vash stared at the cleaned gun which reflected the suns’ rays, blinding him. He reached for it, then pulled his hand away. Knives sighed and tossed it in his direction, and Vash instinctively caught it. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he held it in one hand, clicking open the cylinder, and then counting the bullets before closing it. It was way lighter than the last time he held it. Vash tried to ask for an explanation, but Knives remained silent for the whole trip. 

They entered the city an hour later, and Knives led Vash to the nearest Plant. Vash watched his brother carefully as they maneuvered through the crowd and was relieved to see that Knives wasn’t manipulating people to avoid him as they walked. Then he was curious when Knives entered an abandoned building that towered over the surrounding ones, and they ascended the rickety stairs. They eventually reached the roof, which was at the same level as the tip of the bulb nearby. 

Knives balanced the cross to stand behind him as he stepped toward the edge of the roof. One more step and he would’ve fallen four stories. He turned to face Vash, arms crossed over his chest, and his face gave nothing away. Vash gazed at the standing cross, then at his brother. 

"Why are we up here?"

Without making a sound, Knives uncrossed his arms and stepped forward behind the cross. Without tipping it over, he grasped onto a particular latch and the leather straps flew in every direction while the ribbon cloth fluttered around them as if they were waving lines of foam on a seashore. Vash gasped, eyes wide at the cross once it was exposed. 

Vash recognized only the skull trigger in the center. Everything else had changed. He frowned, then his whole body looked fatigued. Tears spilled from his eyes at the sight of the cross that was once his best friend’s weapon, his life, a symbol—Wolfwood’s cross. Now, it was something different, which Vash seethed at since the cross wasn’t Knives’. It didn’t belong to anyone anymore, really. Knives altered it to his liking, controlled it, shaped it at his mercy. It wasn’t right, but try as he might, Vash couldn’t help but admire the precise craftsmanship. 

Knives had smoothed out and replaced various pieces of the frame with wooden parts. The long parts of the cross were plated with dense finished wooden pieces, and the creases and lines indicating shifting parts were carefully cut and smoothed. Carved vines curled and intertwined from the circle of the trigger and wrapped around the limbs of the cross, resembling the grapevines Knives cultivated in his garden in New Oregon. 

“Why…?”

Knives didn’t bother responding as he hooked his fingers through the skull trigger of the cross. Gracefully, he hoisted it a few feet off the ground without averting his neutral eyes from his brother. 

_‘Do you trust me, Vash?’_

Knives’ voice thundered in Vash’s head, and it was impossible to ignore. Vash had shot Knives with the same weapon. Was this moment some kind of twisted revenge scheme?

 _‘I-I don’t understand… What are you doing?’_ Vash moved his hands to clutch the silver gun at his hip, the lighter gun—the gun he had used to save and ruin lives. 

_‘It’s a surprise, Vash.’_

Vash jolted, taking a step back as the humming echoes began. Spinning, hot metal bits shot out from the wooden plates of the cross, and Vash realized that the screws drilled into the wood shot away from the weapon. The plating on the arms thudded to the ground, revealing two balls of pulsing, kinetic light that crackled and buzzed as they expanded. 

Vash shook his head in disbelief, panic set in. On each side of the cross was a cylinder suspended in the air within the frame of the cross, similar to their Long Colts. Knives had created another weapon that combined the powers within their individual ones. With both hands, Knives held the cross by the trigger as the Angel Arms began manifesting. The veins of the Angel Arms pulsed as both of Knives’ arms grew, one half manifesting the silver Angel Arm and the other his black one. Together, the arms began sprouting multiple wings from the center and two huge insect-like abdomens sprung from each shoulder, turning Knives into a majestic feathered entity. 

Knives was going to destroy the city. 

It was aimed at Vash. 

They both had promises to keep. 

“Knives!” Vash shifted into a defensive position, ready to fight if necessary. “What the hell are you doing?!”

Knives laughed as the new weapon grew the Angel Arm cannon with multiple haunting faces and mummified bodies melded together. “This is also what we can do, dear brother!”

Vash froze. It had been almost a decade since he had seen such a weapon and nearly thirty years since July. His right arm trembled at the memories to this day. His brother—the only person he’d relied on for their first fifteen years—the little boy who grew into a stranger who so long ago had murdered a man, and sat nonchalantly on his desk as if life were meaningless.

“Stop it! Why?!”

“You don’t trust me?” Knives shouted over the noises from the new Angel Arms. 

They had gone through this. Knives had earned his trust… 

“Please, just tell me what you’re doing!” 

The noise--the awful, alien noises--were disturbing, reminding Vash that he himself wasn’t human. He closed his eyes as the cries from the activated cannon invaded his head, hurting him, possessing him. The bright light was warm, like a crackling campfire on a cool morning right before sunrise. The light engulfed him. Vash bit back his wailing cries, wishing he were deaf so this could end.

The screams. People were screaming. Vash instinctively felt his hand hover over his gun. But… His rational thoughts hit him harder than the whirring noises and radiating heat from the cores of the Angel Arms. If these Angel Arms were anything like his previous experiences with them, everything around them should’ve been reduced to rubble. Knives wouldn’t have risked their lives by standing on a building. What was going on?

_‘Open your eyes, Vash.”_

Vash’s eyes were fastened together, unwilling to obey the commanding voice. He had slapped his ears and nearly popped his eardrums in the process. As he struggled, he heard Knives stepping toward him. What was that crunching noise? Leaves? Grass?

Vash’s trembling hands gradually lowered to his sides. He felt the weight of his eyelids reluctantly lifting from his eyes, and once they adjusted to the lack of brightness, he started at the color green.

Eden.

The cross reverted to its new form with Knives nonchalantly leaning over it for support, enjoying Vash’s astonished expression, no doubt. Where a sea of sand once surrounded the city now was a vast field of grass that layered above the sand. Trees and other crops grew in the hundreds throughout and beyond the city, as if they had always been naturally growing. The radius of the blast was double the one from July or a single Angel Arm, and the foreign green pigment stretched for iles—maybe even over a hundred. 

His brother had managed to terraform. Knives Millions: The killer, the abusive brother, the human-hating Plant had developed a way to terraform without taking a life. A solution. 

A future. 

Tears spilled as Vash charged for Knives, wrapping his arms around him. Vash clutched to Knives’ cloak and buried his head in his twin’s shoulder. 

“I forgive you. I-I really mean it.”

Knives lapsed into silence before whispering, “You damn idiot.” He completed the embrace, returning the hug for the first time in over a century.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: During the first few months of quarantine, all I did was read old and new Trigun fanfics and eventually began writing my first fanfics, which was called The Pequod. It was an AU and a Vash and Knives focused novel about Vash’s descent into madness and Knives attempts to “fix” his brother. I stopped writing it after 16 chapters, but even though no one will ever read it, I am taking ideas and scenes from it occasionally. Which ones? Hehe, that’s a mystery. 
> 
> When I first began this story... Oh, this is about to get boring, so you can click away. Anyway, I started this story in July, and I basically began this fanfic ever since I was sick even before cancer. This fic means a lot to me and has given me motivation and inspiration to remain productive and imaginative. It’s a flawed mess, I know, but when I’m healthy again, I will edit it eventually. I appreciate everyone that continues to read it despite all that. 
> 
> Hm, oh, this chapter was really damn fun to write. I may be a Knives fan, but I love Vash as well. I want my boi to be happy too. Originally for Valentine’s Day, I was going to focus on what a relationship with Knives would look like between him and Elizabeth, but I scrapped that idea. Honestly, to me, Knives would be either aromantic or asexual in the anime, but his manga self, given his childhood and such, he’d probably be different. Besides, one sexual relationship is enough. 
> 
> What else? Hm... Oh! Easter is gonna be two parts, so look out for that. 
> 
> Anyway, show that special someone a “good” time for Valentine’s Day! 
> 
> Don’t forget to kudos and comment if ya want!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Costume](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27316408) by [wyluliwerewolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyluliwerewolf/pseuds/wyluliwerewolf)




End file.
